Advanced Jazz Ensemble
Andrew Rathbun, Director
Western Michigan University’s award winning Advanced Jazz Ensemble is directed by Dr. Andrew Rathbun. This nine member ensemble is made up of some of the top students from WMU’s jazz studies program. This ensemble is dedicated to composing and performing original music and is committed to artistic collaboration. The group has received outstanding small ensemble awards from the Notre Dame, Elmhurst, and Detroit International Jazz Festivals. The ensemble has performed in Illinois, Indiana, throughout Michigan, and was featured by Marshall Music Company at the 2006 Michigan Music Conference, as well as the 2007 International Association of Jazz Educators in New York City, with guest artists Stefon Harris, Fred Hersch, and Billy Hart. They have also performed twice at the Monterey NextGen Jazz Festival in 2012 and 2013. Their latest CD, Songsmith Collective on BluJazz Records, is a collaboration with WMU poet Traci Brimhall. Metrics, a joint project with the WMU Dance Department, will be available in the new year on DVD, and their latest project Climate Changes, a collaboration with the Frostic School of Art, will be premiered in February 2016.