Musicians with the FGCU Jazz Nonet take over WGCU’s performance studio with a live performance! Members of the group include students studying music performance and music education at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Bower School of Music. Under the direction of Jazz Studies professor and bassist Brandon Robertson, members of the ensemble have spent the last semester studying the music of Miles Davis and Gil Evans from the iconic 1957 compilation album “Birth of the Cool.”
That album served as pivotal milestone in American Jazz. Recordings on the album were a departure from the more prominent bebop jazz style of the time, including innovative arrangements infused with elements from classical music and including instruments that had been largely underutilized in the world of jazz. We’ll learn more about the impact of the album and hear the FGCU Jazz Nonet perform selections from it.
FGCU Jazz Nonet members include Manessa Abraham (F-Horn), Tony Claro (Trumpet), Gabriella DeLeon (Alto Saxophone), Evin Esposito (Tuba), Alex Granados (Trombone), Stephen McMullen (Drums), Melissa Sanchez (Piano), Isaiah Suriel (Baritone Saxophone) and Jonathan Taylor (Bass).
