Buselli–Wallarab Jazz Orchestra
| Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | BWJO, Midcoast Swing Orchestra |
| Genres | Jazz, Big Band, Swing |
| Labels | Owl studios |
| Website | BWJO.org |
| Members |
Brent Wallarab, Mark Buselli, Reeds: Tom Meyer, Mike Stricklin, Ned Boyd, Rob Dixon Trumpets: Joey Tartell, Jeff Conrad, Mike Hackett Trombones: Brent Wallarab, Loy Hetrick, Jason Miller, Richard Dole French Horn: Celeste Holler Seraphinoff Piano: Luke Gillespie Bass: Jack Helsey Drums: Deno Sanders Vocalists: Everett Greene, Cynthia Layne |
| Notable instruments | |
| Trombone, Saxophone, Piano | |
The Buselli–Wallarab Jazz Orchestra is a jazz orchestra consisting of 17 pieces. The late jazz musician J.J. Johnson called the BWJO, "A marvelous new band with exceptional soloists and some of the most creative and satisfying writing I've heard in a long time."[1]
BWJO co-founders Mark Buselli and Brent Wallarab are music educators, as well as musicians and composers. Their common commitment to America's jazz heritage brought the BWJO to life and helped define the mission of the organization. They regularly hold concerts and clinics at public schools in Indianapolis [2]
Brent Wallarab
Wallarab is a 1987 graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale School of Music with a Bachelor of Music (BM) in Performance, and 1989 graduate of Indiana University with a Master of Music (M.M.) degree.[3]
Since 1991, Brent Wallarab has served as Specialist in Jazz for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. During this time he has transcribed, edited, and restored nearly 300 works for big band deemed by the Smithsonian as national treasures. Wallarab also performs as lead and solo trombonist for the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the jazz ensemble-in-residence of the National Museum of American History, a position he has held since the inception of the orchestra in 1991.
Wallarab is an internationally recognized arranger, composer, scholar, and performer, having recently toured Northern Italy and South Africa, conducting master classes, workshops, and performances.
As an arranger, Wallarab is featured on dozens of recordings and has written for many artists including Wynton Marsalis, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Bobby Short, The New York Pops Orchestra, The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Charlie Haden, Med Flory, Randy Brecker, Joe Lovano, and many others. He is widely published and many of his works are performed regularly by professional big bands and University music programs worldwide.
In 1994, Wallarab, along with Mark Buselli, founded the Buselli–Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, a professional jazz ensemble based in Indianapolis, Indiana, dedicated to the creation of new works for jazz orchestra and developing programs for jazz education.
Wallarab currently teaches jazz ensemble and jazz arranging at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana, and is sponsored as an endorsing performing artist by King Trombones, a subsidiary of Conn-Selmer, Inc.
Mark Buselli
Mr. Buselli graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston and received his Masters in Music degree in jazz studies from Indiana University. Mark is head of Jazz Studies at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Mark received a Creative Renewal grant from the Indianapolis Arts Council for 2005 to go to NYC and study arranging and composition with well-known artists. In May 2007, he was awarded the Creative Vision award from NUVO magazine. He was awarded the Dean's Creative Award at Ball State University for his 2009 release of "An Old Soul" by the BWJO that was voted the #6 release of 2009 by JAZZIZ magazine.[4]
Buselli has over forty arrangements published for big bands, brass ensemble, and piano/ trumpet. He has ten recordings out as a leader on the Owl studios and OA2 record labels. Buselli has appeared on numerous recordings as a sideman and has performed for presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.[5] He resides in Indianapolis with wife Andrea and daughter Sophia. Mark currently serves as the Jazz track director for Music For All and is Education Director of the Buselli–Wallarab Jazz Orchestra in Indianapolis where he has created educational opportunities for over six thousand students.[6]
Discography
- Through The Eyes of a Child 1997
- Happenstance 2001
- Heart & Soul: The Music of Hoagy Carmichael 2003
- Take the Mitsu 2003
- Carol of the Bells 2007
- Basically Baker 2007
- Where or When 2008
- An Old Soul 2009
- Mezzanine 2010
- Untold Stories 2014
References
- ↑ BWJO
- ↑ BWJO
- ↑ http://info.music.indiana.edu/faculty/current/wallarab-brent.shtml
- ↑ Downbeat Magazine awarded the BWJO release "Basically Baker" as one of the top 100 releases of the decade.]
- ↑ Mark Buselli
- ↑ shell lake arts center - Instructors