Stan Wheeler Memorial Jazz Concert Scheduled for March 1

The eighth annual Stan Wheeler Memorial Jazz Concert will take place on March 1, 2015, featuring the Yale Jazz Ensemble and the Reunion Jazz Ensemble. The concert, presented by Yale Law School and Yale University Bands, pays tribute to the late Yale Law School professor and jazz musician Stan Wheeler. The event will take place at Yale Law School’s Levinson Auditorium on Sunday at 2 pm.

The Reunion Jazz Ensemble is a group of Yale Jazz Ensemble (YJE) alumni who, along with late professor and trumpeter Stanton Wheeler, were early members of the Yale jazz scene in the 1970s. Professor Wheeler continued to play with the Yale Jazz Ensemble until his death in 2007. This year’s Reunion roster includes well-known jazz artists Tim Moran (alto sax), Paul Lieberman (tenor sax and flute), Gary Bennett (bari sax), Steve Perrett (trumpet), Tony Lombardozzi (guitar), Jeff Fuller (bass), Paul Sullivan (piano), and Bob D’Angelo (drums).

The Yale Jazz Ensemble will perform Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s arrangement of Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite and Buddy Rich’s arrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. Reunion will announce their music from the stage.

Directed by music director Thomas C. Duffy, the YJE is a 17-piece big band that performs a wide variety of music, from Yale’s Benny Goodman archive to the newest and most progressive jazz compositions. The Ensemble has performed extensively in the United States and internationally at such noted venues as New York’s Village Vanguard and Iridium jazz clubs, and London’s Ronnie Scott’s. The YJE has performed with or opened for The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band, the World Saxophone Quartet, Jane Ira Bloom, Jimmy Owens, and Branford Marsalis.

Admission to the concert is free and no tickets are required. Call (203) 432-4111 or visit the band's website.