Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra and Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble

Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra and Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble Concert [NEW TIME]

Friday, April 26, 2024 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall

FREE!

The Wesleyan University Jazz Orchestra and the Music 456 Jazz Ensemble, directed by Professor of Music and African American Studies Jay Hoggard ’76, MA ’91, and the Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble, directed by Noah Baerman, present an exciting evening of classic and contemporary jazz repertoire as the start of the 21st annual Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend.

The Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble features Neo Fleurimond '24 on alto saxophone, Miles Pinsof-Berlowitz '27 on alto saxophone, Brodie Zeigler '27 on alto saxophone, Leo Rose '24 on guitar, Leo Bader '26 on guitar, Noah King '25 on bass, and Teddy Mailer '26 on drums. This ensemble from the course MUSC455 "Jazz Ensemble" will perform tunes by Rufus Reid (in celebration of the bassist's recent 80th birthday), Max Roach Hon. ’85, P ’93 and J.J. Johnson (saluting their centennial anniversaries, as the drummer and trombonist were both born in 1924), James Williams, J.J. Johnson, Bobby Hutcherson, Abbey Lincoln, Melba Liston, and Ornette Coleman.

The Music 456 Jazz Ensemble features Idenya Bala-Mehta '25 on flute and piano, Conor Costello '27 on trumpet, Neo Fleurimond '24 on alto and soprano saxophone, Noel Gonzalez '27 on guitar, Judeley Jean-Charles '24 on piano, graduate student Batya Kline on guitar, Kate Lyman '26 on bass, Brooks Olson '26 on vibraphone, and Eli Smirin '26 on drums. This ensemble from the course MUSC456 "Jazz Improvisation Performance" will perform tunes by Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Benny Harris, and Freddie Hubbard.

The Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra features graduate student Hansini Bhasker on vocals, Conor Costello '27 on trumpet and piano, Gavin Cui '26 on piano, flute, and percussion, Neo Fleurimond '24 on alto and soprano saxophone, Santiago Galvan '26 on tenor saxophone, Charlie Kauffman '24 on bass, Thomas Linderman '27 on drums and vibraphone, Alise Mackey '24 on alto saxophone, and Xander Starobin '27 on guitars. The orchestra from the course MUSC458 "Jazz Orchestra II" will perform tunes by Duke Ellington, Tadd Dameron, Oliver Nelson, George Gershwin, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Jim Hendrix, John Coltrane, and Frank Foster.