Event Details
Artists and Info
NU Jazz Ensemble Biography
The repertoire performed by the jazz ensembles is a rich blend of music for big band instrumentation, combining the musical styles of North American, Afro-Cuban and South American Jazz. The orchestra has a time- honored tradition of presenting to the public compelling instrumental and vocal music arrangements of music that inspire, educate, enrich, entertain and transform audiences of all ages. We feature the works of past master composers and arrangers, as well as incorporate the works of the best contemporary writers active in the field of jazz, Latin Jazz, R & B and funk music.
The Jazz Ensemble is directed by Joel LaRue Smith.
JOEL LARUE SMITH – pianist/composer/arranger/educator
Has toured extensively, performing jazz, classical, gospel and Afro Cuban repertoire, throughout the U.S., Europe, Africa, Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean. His critically acclaimed CD, “September’s Child”, features seven original Afro-Cuban Jazz compositions.
His March 2017 CD, “The Motorman’s Son” has been described in Downbeat magazine as “a vibrant, powerful and hard-grooving release”.
He is the recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council
2017 Artist Fellowship Program Finalist Award in Music Composition, and six Meet
the Composer grants, a grand prizewinner for the grant in musical composition
from the Queens Council for the Arts, and has won the distinguished George and
Ira Gershwin Award from ASCAP.
NU FUSION ENSEMBLE
The repetoire studied and performed by the NU Fusion Ensemble combines jazz, rock, funk, latin and world styles of music. Examples of works performed by the group include those of Chick Corea, Weather REport, Snarky Puppy and Chick Corea.
The Fusion Ensemble is directed by Junauro Landgrebe.
Junauro
Landgrebe has performed with Pat Metheny, Chick Corea and Patti
LaBelle, amongst others. He is a highly sought after guitarist and has
opened for Roger Daltry of The Who, Jewel and The Four Tops. He is a
versatile guitarist and teacher who performs and teaches jazz, funk,
rock blues, folk, country, pop and classical styles of music.