Jazz

MUS 106/406J:  AM Jazz Band

This ensemble is designed for intermediate players, students learning a "double,” and students new to the jazz idiom.  Emphasis is on style, literature, and improvisation.  (NO audition required.)

MUS 107/407J:  Jazz Combos

Various combos perform jazz compositions with emphasis on improvisation.

The Cal Poly Humboldt Jazz Combos are groups of three to seven musicians. Three or more groups are formed each semester by audition. Humboldt professor Dan Aldag coaches the combos, but they are largely autonomous, with each group deciding what style(s) of jazz they wish to perform, selecting (and often times composing) their own repertoire and often rehearsing themselves. As a result, the combos each have their own character and personality. In recent years, groups have played in styles ranging from traditional New Orleans and Gypsy jazz to post-bop and funk.

Rehearsal times
Students placed in a combo will rehearse Fridays 12:00-12:50, 1:00-1:50, or 2:00-2:50, plus one more hour TBA. If you are auditioning for Jazz Combos, please try to leave all three Friday hours free. The more of these hours you have free, the easier it is to be placed in a combo.

Auditions
Auditions for the Jazz Combos take place every semester on the first Wednesday evening of the semester. Information and music to be prepared for the auditions is posted the week before. Students auditioning are asked to perform three tunes as part of a group.

MUS 106/406K:  Jazz Orchestra

The Cal Poly Humboldt Jazz Orchestra is a big band made up of saxes, trumpets, trombones, and rhythm section, with other instruments and voice occasionally used. The Jazz Orchestra plays the best literature available for large jazz ensemble, from classics of the 1920s and 1930s to music written by today’s most innovative composers and arrangers, including Cal Poly Humboldt students and faculty.

 

The Jazz Orchestra performs multiple times each semester. Recent special performances include Swingposium (in collaboration with San Jose Taiko), concerts with guest artists Ryan Keberle and Matt Wilson, and centennial celebrations of the music of Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn and Gil Evans.

 

The band regularly tours, travelling to jazz festivals and playing at high schools and junior colleges. The Jazz Orchestra also performed at the 2019 Jazz Educators Network Conference in Reno, Nevada.

 

The Jazz Orchestra is led by Cal Poly Humboldt music professor Dan Aldag.