UCLA Big Band Concert

The UCLA Latin Jazz Big Band, the Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, the Charles Mingus Ensemble, and the UCLA Jazz Orchestra, directed by world-class jazz artists, will be performing well-known jazz standards as well as compositions by the faculty directors and the students. The Latin Jazz Big Band is directed by Paul De Castro, who is highly regarded as a pianist and instructor of both jazz and Afro-Cuban (salsa) styles, and has just released a new CD, Bueno Pá Gozar: Paul De Castro y su Orquesta Dengue. The Contemporary Jazz Ensemble is directed by Hitomi Oba, co-founder of the composer/performer new music collective L.A. Signal Lab. The Charles Mingus Ensemble is directed by James Newton, an award-winning composer, a distinguished professor at UCLA, and one of the world’s true flute virtuosos in numerous musical idioms. The UCLA Jazz Orchestra is directed by Charley Harrison, whose recently released album, Keeping My Composure, maintained a spot on the charts of JazzWeek for 13 consecutive weeks.