Campus jazz band, in midst of tour, to cut first CD at area club

The UW Jazz Big Band, 18 student musicians under the direction of Claude Cailliet, is busy touring this spring and plans to record a compact disc at a concert at Luther’s Blues Wednesday, April 24, at 9:30 p.m.

The band departed on a weeklong tour April 14 for performances in Chippewa Falls, Marshfield, Neenah, Appleton, Kenosha, Racine and several other cities before returning to Madison.

The tour includes four Wisconsin Alumni Association Founders Day events, as well as a number of educational presentations at local schools under the auspices of UW–Madison’s “On the Road” program. The entire tour was made possible by a grant from the Evjue Foundation.

The band consists of four trumpets, five trombones, five saxophones and a four-member rhythm section of piano, bass, drums and guitar. Members tailor their repertoire for the audience. Community groups hear classical jazz selections by Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Woody Herman. School-age audiences get a dose of challenging contemporary compositions.

Cailliet, a native of Kenosha, spent 13 years in Los Angeles before moving to Madison in 1990. While in Los Angeles, he performed and recorded with Neil Young, U2, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and many others, and performed on the Arsenio Hall Show and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Cailliet received master’s and doctoral degrees from UW–Madison’s School of Music, and serves on the faculty of UW-Baraboo/Sauk County in addition to his Madison post. He leads the popular salsa/Latin jazz ensemble MadiSalsa.

The UW Jazz Big Band will perform for free Thursday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. in Morphy Hall, Mosse Humanities. More information: 263-1900.