Concert Preparation

Concert Program

Sunday, April 12, 2026, 3PM

at von der Mehden Recital Hall

UConn Jazz Lab Band – Spring Concert

Earl MacDonald, Director

Wind Machine
by Sammy Nestico (1924–2021)

It’s Your Thing
by Ronald Isley (b. 1941), O’Kelly Isley Jr. (1937–1986), and Rudolph Isley (1939–2023)
arr. Bob Mintzer (b. 1953)

Canto Lucimi
by Michael Philip Mossman (b. 1959)

Alfie
by Burt Bacharach (1928–2023)
arr. Earl MacDonald (b. 1970)
featuring Isabella Kulawik, vocalist

All of Me
by Seymour Simons (1896–1949) and Gerald Marks (1900–1997)
arr. Billy Byers (1927–1996)
featuring Isabella Kulawik, vocalist

Chelsea Bridge
by Billy Strayhorn (1915–1967)

Quietude
by Thad Jones (1923–1986)

Basically Blues
by Phil Wilson (b. 1937)

Saxophones:
Elijah Roman
Ariana Rozman
Daniel Planas
Chase Cassidy
Jack Wood

Trumpets:
Victor Simancus
Rachel Robinson
Daniel Kress
Ben Godbout
Aaiza Zafar

Trombones:
Christopher Rauch*
Benjamin Burnham*
Keyra Huaman
Thomas Lownes

Rhythm Section:
Earl MacDonald – Piano
Emma Desrosiers – Guitar
Robin Uhrynowski – bass
Julian Diamond – drums

Vocal:
Isabella Kulawik

* Indicates substitute musicians from the UConn Jazz Ensemble

Earl MacDonald is a composer, pianist, and educator whose work draws from jazz, classical music, and global traditions while resisting aesthetic neutrality. A two-time JUNO nominee and recipient of the Sammy Nestico Award, he has released seven recordings ranging from chamber ensembles to full jazz orchestra. His dectet album Open Borders framed composition as a form of civic dialogue rather than decorative expression. A former musical director for the Maynard Ferguson Big Bop Nouveau Band, MacDonald is Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Connecticut. His current project, Songs for a Shifting World, reimagines art song as an ethically engaged contemporary practice.

 

 

 

Links to recordings of the songs we are preparing:

link: https://youtu.be/K5HR5EWTIwQ?si=shEP3XGG29F-VL_6

 

 

  • Basically Blues

link: https://youtu.be/bQQa3ctTG54?si=4pEskpsSvH5L4ncS

  • Quietude

link: https://youtu.be/eMqU3IkRcPs?si=6t06uhZxfDKHoDAV

 

  • Canto Lucumi

link: https://youtu.be/PTyd-NUn-IM?si=6QvDvfmND7Xmn3r3

  • Wind Machine

link: https://youtu.be/H6ewylplVII?si=HTX-C6mvlar4fX4s

 

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