Western Michigan University Jazz Orchestra

Western Michigan University Jazz Orchestra: Blue Miles

by Jack Bowers
April 1, 1999

The award–winning and Grammy–nominated WMU Jazz Orchestra returns for a third date on Sea Breeze, for which the ensemble earns another impressive report card. Nothing seems beyond their purview, from straight–ahead cookers by Matt Catingub (“Indian Riffs”), Robert Lewis (“Poste Haste”) or Matt Harris (“Rompe Cabezas”) to more demanding works by Thelonious Monk (“Misterioso”), Chick Corea (“Blue Miles”) or Bill Evans (“34 Skidoo”). Also worthy of commendation are the orchestra’s up-tempo version of Irving Berlin’s “Soft Lights and Sweet Music” ...