Through my position as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Connecticut, I am afforded the opportunity to rehearse the university's premier large jazz ensemble twice per week. I regularly write new material for the band, and recorded six arrangements with this group in April 2002. The resultant CD, "UConn Jazz" was released on the SeaBreeze Vista recording label and garnered favorable reviews.

In keeping with the small, selective nature of the UConn jazz studies program and the music department as a whole, the UConn Jazz Ensemble ranges from nine to twelve instrumentalists, rather than the typical seventeen-piece big band seen at most academic institutions. The comparatively small size of the ensemble makes off-campus performances practical, and facilitates instruction in improvisation and musical interaction within rehearsals.

Each semester we focus on the music of a specific composer / arranger (or professional band). Past composers have included Michael Abene, Phil Allen, Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Rob McConnell, Jim McNeely and Gerry Mulligan.

For the Fall 2010 semester, we will prepare music written by John Mills, Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.