Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, and jazz fusion. He is best known for his acclaimed collaborations with Miles Davis.
Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. was an American Latin Jazz musician, often described as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, especially small group modern jazz, even as he continued to perform music of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Charles Edward Haden was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than fifty years. Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playing in jazz, evolving a style that sometimes complemented the soloist, and other times moved independently, liberating bassists from a strictly accompanying role.
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards.
John Martin Tchicai was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer.
Howard McGhee was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger bebop trumpeters such as Fats Navarro.
Michael Mantler is an Austrian avant-garde jazz trumpeter and composer of contemporary music.
Gerald Stanley Wilson was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Julie London, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Nancy Wilson.
Luis Diego Bonilla is an American jazz trombonist of Costa Rican descent. He is also a producer, composer, and educator.
The University of California Jazz Ensembles, also known as the UC Jazz Ensembles, UC Jazz, or UCJE, is the student jazz organization founded in 1967 on the University of California, Berkeley, campus. Founded in 1967, it comprises one or more big bands, numerous jazz combos, a vocal jazz ensemble, an alumni big band, and instructional classes. With a mission statement to foster a community for the performance, study, and promotion of jazz at U.C. Berkeley, its Wednesday Night big band provides free concerts every Thursday noon on Lower Sproul Plaza, its various units perform throughout the San Francisco Bay Area including area high schools, travel to collegiate jazz festivals, and perform overseas, and for many years it sponsored the annual Pacific Coast Jazz Festival. It also provides master classes by its instructors and clinics by prominent guest artists. It has nurtured numerous musicians who have become professional jazz musicians and educators. UC Jazz Ensembles is one of three groups, with the Cal (marching) Band and UC Choral Ensembles, forming Student Musical Activities (SMA), a department within Cal Performances on the U.C. Berkeley campus. Its members are primarily U.C. Berkeley undergraduate and graduate students, representing many academic disciplines.
Robert Harry "Bob" Curnow is an American musician who served as a trombonist, staff arranger and producer for the Stan Kenton Orchestra during the 1960s and 1970s. As a composer and arranger, he has become well known for large ensemble jazz music set to contemporary fusion and rock music of groups such as Chicago, Blood, Sweat and Tears, and the Yellowjackets. Most notably, he arranged the music for and produced the award-winning and critically acclaimed CD, Bob Curnow's L.A. Big Band Plays The Music of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. His compositions and arrangements are heavily influenced by earlier writers for the Stan Kenton Orchestra such as Pete Rugolo, Bill Russo, Johnny Richards and Bill Holman. Curnow is currently owner and President of Sierra Music Publications, Inc., he is also prominent in the instrumental music and jazz education fields.
We're Back! is a 1986 album released by the California State University, Los Angeles Jazz Ensemble, it was the springboard for the Bob Curnow's arrangement of the Pat Metheny work The First Circle. The group proved to be one of the finest college jazz orchestras of that era with having placed in the finals of the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival. The jazz band had numerous student musicians that have made a name for themselves as professionals to include Sharon Hirata, Luis Bonilla, Phil Feather, Jack Cooper, Charlie Richard, Eric "Bobo" Correa, Mark Gutierrez, Vince Dublino, and José Arellano.
Monstrosity! is the final LP Vinyl album release by the California State University, Los Angeles Jazz Ensemble before recording on digital/CD format in 1990. In addition to the big band, the LP featured the CSULA Jazz Quintet which won the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival Combo division for 1988. Los Angeles Times jazz critic Zan Stewart gave the recording four of five stars in his May 1989 review. The jazz band had numerous student musicians that have made a name for themselves as professionals including Sharon Hirata, Luis Bonilla, Jack Cooper, Charlie Richard, Corey Gemme, Eric "Bobo" Correa, Vince Dublino, Alan Parr, Paul De Castro, Alex Henderson, Gary Smith and José Arellano.
The New in You is a 1985 album by the California State University, Los Angeles Jazz Ensemble. It was the group's first recording under the direction of David Caffey. The group's student musicians have included Sharon Hirata, Luis Bonilla, Phil Feather, Jack Cooper, Charlie Richard, Mark Gutierrez, and Jose Arellano.
It's About Time is the first CD digital format album release by the California State University, Los Angeles Jazz Ensembles completed in 1990. In addition to two big bands (1989/1990) the CD features the CSULA Jazz Sextet. The jazz bands had numerous student musicians that have made a name for themselves as professionals to include Luis Bonilla, Jack Cooper, Corey Gemme, Alan Parr, Randall Willis, Paul De Castro, Alex Henderson, Sheffer Bruton, Ruben Ramos, and José Arellano.
Sixth Floor Jazz is a 1997 CD release by the University of Texas Jazz Orchestra; it was critically acclaimed by All About Jazz. The recording also features Gunther Schuller conducting and giving commentary to historic works of Duke Ellington and Charlie Barnet during a live concert in 1995. The CD is unique in featuring Enhanced CD audio and QuickTime video with credits and pictures for the recording sessions.
Unforgettable is a CD released by the Fullerton College Jazz Bands and Jazz Singers for the Discovery Records Trend AM-PM label. The current #1 jazz band on this recording was the winner of the 1985 International Association for Jazz Education Disneyworld Competition and the opening band for the 1985 Playboy Jazz Festival.
Jack Cooper is an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, multireedist, and music educator. He has performed with, written music for and recorded by internationally known pop, jazz, and classical artists.
Upside Out is a CD by the Riverside City College Jazz Ensemble and combo; this was released in 2003 on the Sea Breeze Vista Jazz label. Critic Jack Bowers notes, "A consistently rewarding album by top-drawer college-level jazz ensemble and trio." Most notably the CD continues to receive airplay through the country due to the high acclaim of the music on the recording.
John Garvey was an American musician, orchestra leader, and academic who played viola in the Walden String Quartet for 23 seasons, introduced a jazz curriculum at the University of Illinois, and created its Jazz Big Band which he led until his retirement from the university in 1991. The jazz band dominated collegiate jazz festival awards in its early days and in 1969 was chosen by the state department to tour the USSR and Eastern Europe. Many members of Garvey's jazz bands went on to successful careers as professional musicians and academics.
