Directors:
Pitt Jazz offers an opportunity for all undergraduate students to audition for the big band jazz ensemble and/or enroll in the small jazz ensemble class. The Pitt Jazz Ensemble regularly performs at music venues during each semester off and on campus. They host a fall and spring concert fearuring notable jazz performers, monthly jam sessions featuring local musicians and an adjudicated student big band festival each February.
History: The Jazz Ensemble was founded in the early days of Dr. Nathan Davis’ tenure as director with less than a dozen musicians. Since that time, the group has grown in both number and stature. Within three years of its formation, the Pitt Jazz Ensemble had risen from performing locally to performing at the internationally known Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland. The jazz ensemble has also toured the Southern United States, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica.
Pitt Jazz Ensemble (Music 0640)
OPEN AUDITIONS FOR ALL STUDENTS:
Monday, August 28th @ 4:30pm-5:45pm and Wednesday, August 30th @ 4:30pm-5:45pm
Location: Music Building 132
Director Ralph Guzzi can be contacted at rpg12@pitt.edu for questions.
Instrumentation: Standard Big Band
- Saxophones
- Trumpets
- Trombones
- Guitar
- Piano
- Bass
- Drums
- Percussion/Vibraphone
For auditions, musicians will sit in with the band. Sight reading will be in sections. No prepared pieces are needed and improvisation is optional. Rhythm section players will need to demonstrate different playing styles. The students who passed the auditions will receive a permission number to enroll in Music 0640.
Small Jazz Ensemble
Students can enroll in the small jazz ensemble class, Music 0673 + 2740. Email Jeff Grubbs, jeffgrubbs@icloud.com, for more information.
