Tuesday, September 18, 2001

WILMINGTON -- The UNCW Big Band, under the direction of Frank Bongiorno, and the Jazz Combo, directed by Jerald Shynett, will present their first concert of the 2001-02 season at 8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 5, in Kenan Auditorium. General admission is $5; UNCW faculty, staff, senior citizens and children under 12, $2.50; free to UNCW students with valid ID. Tickets will be available at the door.

The UNCW Jazz Combo will open the program with jazz standards as well as original compositions. Members of the combo are pianist Shawn Higgins, guitarist Shaun Mahoney, saxophonist Mike Colon, drummer Mike Ounallah and bassist Matt Ryder. The UNCW Big Band’s program will include a variety of music made famous by the big bands of Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Bob Mintzer and others.

Over the years UNCW jazz combos have garnered numerous awards at various jazz festivals including the 1995 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland as well as a gold award (first place) for the best university combo at the 1997 JazzFest U.S.A. (sponsored by Down Beat magazine) held at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

The UNCW Big Band performs musical styles ranging from swing to bebop to modern. In addition to their concert schedules, UNCW bands have produced several recordings, including three CDs (Portraits of Swing, Travelin’ Light and Summation) as well as the video Sing Like a Pro. They have performed at various jazz festivals, including the 1997 Graz Jazz Festival in Austria and the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague, Holland.

For more concert information, contact the Department of Music at 910/962-3390.

A photo suitable for print is available for download on the Web at

www.uncwil.edu/news/releases/september01/concert.html