UW Blue Note & Contemporary Jazz Ensembles

Directed by Chad McCullough, the Blue Note Ensemble is a small jazz group consisting of 2–3 frontline instruments (trumpets, trombones, saxophones, other woodwinds or high strings), 1–2 comping instruments (piano, guitar, vibraphone), bass, and drums. It performs music from the post-bop jazz period of the 1950s and 1960s (such as the music of Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, or Art Blakey). Each semester primarily focuses on the music of a single jazz artist.

Directed by Johannes Wallmann, the Contemporary Jazz Ensemble consists of 2–3 frontline instruments (trumpets, trombones, saxophones, other woodwinds or high strings), 1–2 comping instruments (piano, guitar, vibraphone), bass, and drums. This small group performs contemporary, mainstream jazz repertoire from the last two decades (such as the music of Dave Douglas, Terence Blanchard, Kenny Wheeler, Chris Potter, David Binney, Dave Holland, and Brian Blade) as well as student compositions.