Purdue Jazz Bands

 

 

 

Four different big bands and numerous combo opportunities are a part of the high-profile Jazz Studies program at Purdue University directed by Dr. M.T. “Mo” Trout.

Our premier ensemble, the Purdue Jazz Band has received numerous awards at collegiate jazz festivals in recent years, including the North Texas Jazz Festival, the Notre Dame Jazz Festival and the Elmhurst Collegiate Jazz Festival.  The band mounted a European tour in 2000, marking the third time the band has performed at the prestigious Montreux International Jazz Festival in Switzerland. The band has also performed in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and China and has toured throughout the United States.

The American Music Repertory Ensemble (AMRE) also enjoys a special spotlight in the department. Devoted to music by the top musicians and big bands of the 20th century, the ensemble presents themed concerts ranging from ones devoted to 1940s greats like Glenn Miller to end-of-the century phenoms like Brian Setzer.  The group features full big band instrumentation with four or more singers and performs original transcriptions of some of the great big band music of the past.

Membership in each of the jazz bands is determined through auditions held each semester. Musicians are grouped by ability, and performance literature is geared to the level of each band. Besides the Purdue Jazz Band and AMRE, the department also offers Lab Jazz Band, Concert Jazz Band and a Jazz Workshop Instrumentalists in the jazz program also have the opportunity to perform in combos, and singers can participate in Vocal Jazz Workshop.

Performance opportunities vary from semester to semester, but always include several campus concerts in addition to travel opportunities and Study Abroad. In recent years the Purdue Alumni Association has made it possible for the Purdue Jazz Band and combos to visit Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Florida, Michigan, New York, Texas and Washington D.C. (as well as helping fund European travel) to serve as musical ambassadors for Purdue University.

Each January, the department hosts the Purdue Jazz Festival, which attracts more than 90 high school instrumental jazz ensembles from around the Midwest to a weekend of competition, clinics, concerts and community events. Through the event, Purdue musicians collaborate with some of the top jazz artists in the world including Byron Stripling, Bob Mintzer, Tom Harrell, Wayne Bergeron, Bobby Watson, Bill Watrous, Terri Lynn Carrington, James Williams, The New York Voices, Dave Samuels, Claudio Roditi, Dave Smaules, Steve Houghton, Eric Marienthal Allen Vizzutti, Gary Smulyan and many others.

Student participants earn two hours of academic credit per semester.

Interested in joining Purdue Jazz Bands?

Click here for audition information