Western's jazz ensembles to play free concert Dec. 7

Western Washington University’s Jazz Studies Area will present its fall concert at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, in the Performing Arts Center Concert Hall.

The performance is free and open to the public.

The evening will feature the Western Jazz Orchestra, Western Big Band, Western Jazz Combo and Faculty Jazz Collective in a night of big band music and chamber jazz. Audience members will enjoy performances by both students and faculty that span a diverse range of jazz works from Basie, Ellington, Kenton and Woody Herman, to modern masters Branford Marsalis and Wayne Shorter.

“Two new works by Miles Black will be premiered by the Western Jazz orchestra - a funky original titled ‘Tales of Tizoc’ and an arrangement of Irving Berlin's ‘Cheek To Cheek,’” said Mike Allen, WWU Jazz Studies Area coordinator. The Western Big Band will be directed by senior percussion student Christian Casolary.

The concert will also mark the debut of the new Faculty Jazz Collective. This past fall, Western’s in-residence Faculty Jazz Collective proudly announced the addition of a fifth member, trumpeter Chris Davis. In addition to becoming a quintet, 2012 has seen the release of its self-titled album, “Faculty Jazz Collective,” on Almus Jazz.

For more information call Western’s Department of Music at (360) 650-3130 or visit http://www.wwu.edu/music.