Monday, November 26, 2001

WILMINGTON -- The UNCW Big Band, under the direction of Frank Bongiorno, and the Jazz Combo, directed by Jerald Shynett, will present its final concert of the fall semester at 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 7, 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 auditorium box office the night of the concert.



The UNCW Jazz Combo I 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 including contemporary big band arrangements as well as selections of jazz standards such as Bewitched and Tenor Madness.



Over the years the UNCW Jazz Combos have garnered numerous awards at jazz festivals including 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, Fla., and the 1995 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Combo members Mahoney and Higgins are this year’s recipients of the Cape Fear Jazz Appreciation Scholarships in Jazz.

The UNCW Big Band performs musical styles ranging from swing to bebop to modern. In addition to concerts, the UNCW Big Bands have produced three CDs (Portraits of Swing, Travelin’ Light and Summation) as well as the videotape Sing Like a Pro. They have also performed at the 1997 Graz Jazz Festival in Austria and the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland. A fourth CD is expected for release in spring 2002.

For more concert information, contact the Department of Music at 962-3390. A file photo of the UNCW Big Band is available to download from the Web at www.uncwil.edu/news/releases/november01/music_concert.html