Jazz Articles about University of Miami

The University of Miami Concert Jazz Band: Romances

by Jack Bowers
March 20, 2004

Whit Sidener’s University of Miami Concert Jazz Band, long recognized as one of the country’s best, has built its latest album (and fourth in my library) around composer Maria Schneider’s “Three Romances,” with other selections gleaned from the band’s archival material spanning the decade of the ‘90s (and one from 1985). Schneider, who wrote the Romances especially for the UM ensemble, was there to supervise dress rehearsals and conduct the inaugural performance.

As one who has often been lukewarm about ...

University of Miami Concert Jazz Band: Romances

by C. Michael Bailey
February 25, 2004

Romances, a new release from Summit Records' Education Division, prominently features the music of bandleader Maria Schneider, premiering the Three Romances commissioned of the composer by the University of Miami Concert Jazz Band. In addition to the aforementioned suite, the disc opens with Ms. Schnieder’s 1985 composition “Lately," featuring solos by bassist Dennis Marks, guitarist Jon Kreisberg, and trombonist Dante Luciani. The swing is easy and the horn charts lush and exact, in keeping with Schneider’s Ellington-influenced sense of swing.