UNL Faculty Jazz Ensemble performs Oct. 30 at the Lied Center
calendar icon27 Oct 2020 user iconBy Kathe C. Andersen
The UNL Faculty Jazz Ensemble will perform at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on Friday, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
The concert is free, but a ticket is required. Selecting a paid ticket price supports the Lied Center and Glenn Korff School of Music. For tickets, visit go.unl.edu/07jg.
Comprised of some of the nation's finest performers and educators, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty Jazz Ensemble drew national attention in 2010 with their appearance on the NET Television and Glenn Korff School of Music program Jazz Cabaret, which has been viewed by millions. The program captured the versatility and creativity audiences have come to expect from the group.
Assistant Professor of Composition, Emerging Media and Digital Arts Tom Larson, who plays piano in the ensemble, said the group does not have a set list yet, but plans to play music by Wynton Marsalis, Steve Sallow, Tom Harrell and one of Larson’s originals, “But What If There Was?,” which is built on the chord changes to the jazz standard “There Will Never Be Another You.”
“The rest of the performance will be songs from the jazz canon and will probably include some well-known tunes from the Great American Songbook,” Larson said.
In addition to Larson, the group includes Peter Bouffard, guitar; Paul Haar, saxophone; Dave Hall, percussion; Hans Sturm, bass; Darryl White, trumpet; and Greg Simon, trumpet.
“This concert will feature the jazz faculty from the Glenn Korff School of Music, who collectively have well over 100 years of experience playing jazz gigs,” Larson said. “Unlike most of our previous concerts, where we rehearse meticulous arrangements, this concert will more closely resemble what you might hear in an intimate nightclub setting, with a looser, more spontaneous approach.”
For Larson, it’s his first live gig since playing with jazz vocalist Jackie Allen on Valentine’s Day last February.
“The musicians I know are all dying to get back to gigging on a regular basis, making music together and having an audience,” he said. “There have been so few live performances anywhere the last six months or so, so this will be a real treat for us to play, and we hope it is for the audience as well.”
Larson said there is much to like about this ensemble.
“There's such a broad range of talent and experience. We play a lot of my music, and I just can't put into words how cool it is to hear these tunes played better than I could have ever imagined them,” Larson said. “These guys are open to some more experimental stuff, but they also love to swing hard. Everybody has ‘big ears,’ too, meaning that they are great at listening and interacting with each other. That allow us to have some fantastic, unexpected moments when we play. And that is what makes jazz so much fun to play.”