UNCW Jazz Ensembles

Friday April 7, 2006
UNCW Jazz Guitar Ensemble & Jazz Combos Play Kenan Auditorium

Wilmington, NC – The University of North Carolina Wilmington Jazz Guitar Ensemble and Jazz Combo performs at 8 p.m. Friday, April 7 in Kenan Auditorium.

The UNCW Jazz Guitar Ensemble, directed by Bob Russell, guitarist and faculty member, is first up to perform. Comprised of performance majors from the Department of Music, the Jazz Guitar Ensemble tackles challenging tunes by Mongo Santamaria, Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane. The highlight of the program is a performance of “Sweet Sorrow”—a Bob Russell original that was featured on his first CD “Watch This!”.

The second half of the evening features the UNCW Jazz Combo. Directed by jazz faculty member Jerald Shynett, the award-winning ensemble has performed at numerous festivals. Their April 7th program features selections by Wayne Shorter, Duke Jordan, Jerry Bergonzi, among others.

Tickets for this concert are $5 for general admission and free to UNCW students with a valid ID.

For more information, please contact the UNCW Kenan Auditorium Box Office at (910) 962-3500 or the UNCW Department of Music at (910) 962-7416.

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

ROBERT RUSSELL, lecturer in jazz guitar, teaches jazz guitar and class guitar and directs the UNCW Jazz Guitar Ensemble and supervises the department’s concert recording service. Russell plays guitar with his own jazz group, the Bob Russell Trio, as well as with other Wilmington-area jazz musicians. A firm believer in the benefits of a varied musical diet, he also performs on recorders with the UNCW Renaissance Consort and plays electric guitar and keyboards with The 360 Degrees, a popular Cape Fear rock/soul group. He has played and/or recorded with Henry Mancini, Jack Grassel, Slide Hampton, Steve Bailey and many others. Russell has recorded two CD’s--the latest, “…if you never…”, was released in August 2005 to very favorable reviews. His CDs are available for sale at http://www.cdbaby.com/all/bobrussell. Russell has written articles for Just Jazz Guitar magazine and Jazz Guitar Online and also has his own instructional website, www.bobrussellguitar.com. Russell is a member of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE), most recently attending their 2006 conference in New York City.



JERALD SHYNETT teaches trombone and jazz studies at UNCW. He holds the B.M. degree from the University of South Florida and an M.M. degree from the University of Miami. Before coming to UNCW in 1998, Mr. Shynett maintained an active career as a free-lance trombonist, composer and arranger in South Central Florida. His performance credits include working as a side-man for K.C. and the Sunshine Band, the O’Jays, Ray Charles, Liza Minelli, Steve Lawrence and Edie Gormet, among others. His compositions and arrangements have been performed throughout the country, most recently with the UNCW Big Band and the Northwestern University Jazz Ensemble.

THE UNCW JAZZ ENSEMBLES consist of both big bands and combos. Over the years the jazz ensembles and its musicians have garnered numerous awards and accolades. Since 1995 some of these awards and honors have included a Down Beat award for “Outstanding College Performance” in the “Jazz Instrumentalist Soloist” category, and a gold award (first place) for the best university combo at JazzFest U.S.A. (sponsored by Down Beat magazine). The UNCW Jazz Ensembles have also been invited to perform at various prestigious jazz festivals, including the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Hague, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and the Graz Jazz Festival in Austria. In addition to their concert schedule, the UNCW Jazz Ensembles have produced several recordings, including four compact disc recordings (On the Edge, Portraits of Swing, Travelin’ Light, and Summation), a compact disc play-along for Jazz Player magazine, as well as a videotape called Sing Like a Pro.

Finally, the UNCW Jazz Ensembles host an annual guest artist jazz festival each spring that provides an opportunity for the ensembles to perform with world-class jazz artists such as Ingrid Jensen, Ralph Bowen, Bob Berg, Marvin Stamm, Rufus Reid, David Baker, Ed Shaughnessy, Chris Vadala, Denis DiBlasio, and Slide Hampton, to name a few.

PHOTO CREDIT: UNCW/Jamie Moncrief