While student organizations and clubs are often highlighted for their successes, groups created by faculty members aren”t always well known. One group in particular, the Palouse Jazz Project, is starting to garner more community attention with the release of its new album.
Alan Gemberling, University of Idaho director of wind ensemble and jazz bands, said the group is a jazz ensemble that has been on campus for over a decade.
“There has been a faculty jazz group from the Lionel Hampton School of Music for at least 15 years,” Gemberling said. “The Palouse Jazz Project adopted that name to identify that faculty ensemble 10 years ago.”
Five of the ensemble”s members are UI faculty who teach through the Lionel Hampton School of Music and Gemberling said the sixth member, Dave Bjur, is an engineer at the Washington State University recording studio.
The jazz sextet recorded its debut album, which consisted of original pieces and arrangements by its members, in June.
Vanessa Sielert, associate director of the Lionel Hampton School of Music, said releasing the album would have been impossible without help from the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences” Summer Research Grant.
Gemberling and Sielert said that the final product was easily the most rewarding portion of this project.
“I feel that we now finally have some great documentation of some of the work that we have done over the past ten years,” Sielert said.
In addition to the album, Sielert said community outreach has also been a large priority for the faculty jazz sextet.
“I believe that the album will allow us to reach a further audience for future performances in areas that we have not yet performed or given clinics,” stated Sielert. “We hope to spread the word about the ensemble, especially to high school music educators and their students.”
Most schools in the Moscow area tend to have jazz programs in their curriculum and Sielert said this gives the group the opportunity to host clinics and workshops in Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana.
When it comes to the future of the Palouse Jazz Project, Sielert said the jazz sextet has been invited to perform at the Idaho Music Educators” conference in Pocatello this February.
Sielert said there could be another album at some point, but right now the group”s focus is in the community. The Palouse Jazz Project CD is available for purchase at the VandalStore and in the Lionel Hampton School of Music building. It is also possible to download through CD Baby online. Seilert said proceeds will go toward travel expenses to schools and communities to share their music and promote UI and jazz music.
Emily Sandoval can be reached at [email protected]