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Drake University
Drake University Jazz Ensemble 1: Latenight at the Mainstay: Return to Nowhere
by Jack Bowers
While this isn't the first album by the Drake University Jazz Ensemble (there have been at least two others), it is the first to be recorded at home in the university's jazz-linked Mainstay building, hence the album's title. The album was actually taped during a few late-night sessions in May '04 at the Mainstay, which is being converted into a state-of-the-art recording studio. The results, says director Andrew Classen, exceed[ed] all of our expectations.
This despite the fact that Classen ...
read moreThe Drake University Jazz Ensemble One: Rush Hour
by Jack Bowers
If there were any lingering doubts after Waxwing, its impressive debut album, that the Drake University Jazz Ensemble is ready for prime time, those misgivings are quickly laid to rest on Rush Hour, which underlines the Des Moines, Iowa–based band’s status as one of the country’s up–and–coming college–level Jazz ensembles. Director Andrew Classen has clearly worked hard to sculpt his underclassmen into a single–minded unit, and the effort has paid handsome dividends (for a conspicuous example, listen to the awesome ...
read moreJazz pianist Hersh delivers brilliant performance at Drake University
Source:
All About Jazz
by Ben Allaway Special to the Des Moines Register
One of the great jazz pianists of our day, Fred Hersh, played an eloquent solo concert Friday night in the Cosmopolitan Series of Civic Music at Drake University's Sheslow Auditorium.
Much of the concert was a tribute to Thelonious Monk, who would have been 88 this year, a good enough reason for a party for any master of the 88 keys.
Hersh is highly regarded for his ...
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