Cal State Los Angeles Jazz Orchesta

Cal State Los Angeles Jazz Orchesta and Afro-Latin Ensemble: The Unlikely Event

by Jack Bowers
February 15, 2005

This is the second album I've reviewed in less than a month with the title The Unlikely Event. What's more, both were recorded by college ensembles (the other was the University of Northern Iowa), and on both, the “Event" is the album's second track. How unlikely is that? I'll leave it in your hands.

The Cal State Los Angeles Orchestra, directed by Jeff Benedict, actually premiered “The Unlikely Event,"? whose author, Chris Merz, directs the UNI Jazz Ensemble, in May ...

Cal State-Los Angeles Jazz Ensemble: A Minor Excursion

by Jack Bowers
November 1, 1998

This is the second recording I’ve heard by the Cal State–LA Jazz Ensemble (the third they’ve released), and I must confess that this one grabbed and held me from the first seductive measures of David Caffey’s bluesy “Minor Excursion” through the last lingering overtones of Thad Jones’ tongue–in–cheek shuffle, “Don’t Git Sassy.” Maria Schneider’s “Wyrgly,” which has become something of an anthem among college Jazz ensembles, is also on the savory menu along with Bob Brookmeyer’s fugue–like “Ding Dong Ding,” ...