The jazz program’s season opening concert really swings. Interim Director of Jazz Studies Tim Powell brings together the UMD Jazz Ensemble, UMD Jazz Lab Band and the University Jazz Band. Enjoy an entertaining evening of jazz featuring composers ranging from Bill Evans to George and Ira Gershwin to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Program:

UMD Jazz Ensemble:
Jerry Ascione: It’s Okay By Me
Seymour Simons and Gerald Mark: All of Me
Kenny Wheeler: Kayak
Jim McNeely: Mel
Maria Scheider: Evanescence
Turner Layton: After You’ve Gone

UMD Jazz Lab Band:
Bill Evans: Peri’s Scope
Stevie Wonder and Susaye Green: I Can’t Help It
Billy Strayhorn: Upper Manhattan Medical Group
Fred Sturm: A Hymn For Her
George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin: They Can’t Take That Away From Me
Fred Stride: Among The Pyramids 

University Jazz Band:
Dean Sorenson: Rain Delay
Dean Sorenson: Beneath the Underdog
Christian McBride: Brother Mister
Patty Darling: Crystal Cove
Marcus Wyche: Status Quo
John Lennon and Paul McCartney: Norwegian Wood 

The School of Music’s jazz ensembles are comprised of more than 100 students. The UMD Jazz Ensemble is one of only three elite bands invited to perform annually at the UDC Calvin Jones Big Band Jazz Festival, one of the most anticipated events on Washington, D.C.'s jazz calendar and frequently broadcast on the BET Network. Combos and big bands also perform outreach concerts at regional schools and venues such as the National Archives, D.C. Public Library and National Building Museum, as well as at campus events such as Maryland Day, galas and commencement activities.