(Above: UNI Jazz Band One)
On Friday May 19, 2023, at 19h00, The University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) School of Arts proudly presents the University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band (UNI) One.
UNI Jazz Band One is one of the premier collegiate jazz ensembles in the Midwest. They have appeared at festivals all over the United States of America and in Europe. The band performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1998, 1989, and 1995 and at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1998 and 1989.
Jazz Band One has received outstanding band recognition at the Notre Dame (Indiana), Wichita (Kansas), Kansas City (Missouri), Eau Claire (Wisconsin), and Elmhurst (Illinois) Jazz Festivals. It has twice been a featured band (by invitation) at both the Greeley (Colorado) and KU (Kansas) Jazz Festivals and has performed at IAJE Conferences in Long Beach, California (2002) and Chicago, Illinois (2006, 1981), and has been invited to perform at the inaugural conference of the Jazz Education Network (JEN) in St. Louis in May of 2010. The band has also been the recipient of three Outstanding Performance Awards (1999, 1995 and 1993) in the collegiate big band category of Downbeat magazine’s Annual Student Music Awards.
Jazz Band One has been a pioneer in innovative programming and instrumentation. Maintaining a balance of classic Basie and Ellington works and contemporary original compositions, the ensemble’s repertoire consistently displays depth and diversity of style.
The repertoire also showcases the versatility and high level of musicianship of the players in the band. Several original compositions and arrangements have been commissioned by the band from composers such as Manny Albam, Jane Ira Bloom, Ed Sarath, Paul McKee, Chris Schmitz and Rob Hudson.
Jazz Band One is directed by Chris Merz who is an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger who taught in the jazz programme at the University of Natal in the early 90’s.
UNI Jazz Band One (USA) will perform on May 19, 2023, at 19h00 (doors open: 18h30).
Tickets: R150 (R150 pensioner tickets R50 student tickets. Booking is essential: zamat1@ukzn.ac.za
This concert takes place at Howard College Theatre, (The Law building) on the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal’s Howard College campus.
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