Jazz Ensemble

Bob Lark, director

The Jazz Ensemble is one of thirteen student jazz groups at DePaul University, performing several times throughout the academic year both on and off campus. The band performs regularly at Chicago's premier jazz club, Joe and Wayne Segal's Jazz Showcase. Since Bob Lark's appointment as Jazz Studies Chair and director of the Jazz Ensemble, the band has appeared at the Midwest Clinic (2004, 1998, & 1994), the International Association for Jazz Education Conference, the Duke Ellington International Conference, the National Association of Music Merchants Conference, the Jazz Party At Sea aboard the S.S. Norwegian Sun, twice aboard the Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner for their Annual Floating Jazz Festival, and a concert tour of Italy.

Listen to a recent performance of the DePaul Jazz Ensemble
with guest Alto Saxophone Soloist, Phil Woods:
Digitally recorded May 20, 21, & 22, 2004
at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago
Una Mas
by: Kenny Dorham
arr: Darrell Wyatt

An annual recording project by the Jazz Ensemble featuring student, faculty, and commissioned works occurs each spring. These recordings have produced a number of awards from the Jazz Educator's Journal, Down Beat, and JazzTimes magazines. A forthcoming DVD/CD features DePaul Jazz Ensemble concert performances from 2005 at Chicago's Jazz Showcase with guest soloist Slide Hampton, and a summer concert tour of Italy. The Jazz Ensemble has recorded a number of CD's with legendary jazz artists, including Phil Woods, Clark Terry, Bob Brookmeyer, Jim McNeely, Tom Harrell, Louie Bellson, Frank Wess, and Bobby Shew, as well as Chicago Symphony Orchestra members Charles Vernon and John Bruce Yeh.

Memorable Quotes...

"As you can hear from this recording, Bob Lark has a fine band to be proud of, full of fine soloists playing wonderful arrangements. This live recording is a great example of how a jazz band should sound. My compliments to Bob Lark and the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble."
- Joe Lovano, commenting on the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble recording Live At The Jazz Showcase (DPUJE004)

"Playing and working with the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Bob Lark was really a ball! A fantastic program, a terrific band with many excellent soloists!"
- Marvin Stamm

"The DePaul University Jazz Ensemble is one of the finest college bands today. I've played with this wonderful band many times. Director Bob Lark has assembled a well-balanced unit with excellent soloists in every section."
- Louie Bellson

"The DePaul University Jazz Ensemble is a fantastic band, a marvelous band!"
- Clark Terry

"Recently, I had the pleasure of performing with the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble, and one thing was wonderfully obvious right off the bat: this band swings...HARD! They play it all, old or new, swing, rock or Latin, and they play it with a contemporary sound and mature energy."
- Steve Houghton

"I've had the great pleasure of working with Bob Lark and his students in the DePaul University Jazz Studies program on a number of occasions over the last dozen years. One of the many strengths of the DePaul program is the number and talent of the student arrangers, and they're well represented on this CD by Darrell Wyatt, Kevin Fort, Steve Thomas and Ian Torres."
- Jim McNeely, commenting on the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble recording Woodlands, featuring guest alto saxophone soloist Phil Woods.

"The band has a real working ensemble sound, not at all academic. It is not that they don't play with precision or sound well rehearsed; on the contrary, they do all that and more."
- Tim Ries

"One of the definitive Jazz Masters, trombonist/arranger/composer Slide Hampton, is a special guest on this stunning outing by the DePaul University big band, under the superlative talents of leader/trumpeter Professor Bob Lark (a Master in his own right!)."
- Phil Woods, commenting on the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble recording The DePaul University Jazz Ensemble with guest artist Slide Hampton.

"I've been aware of the band since visiting the school and being treated to a very high level rendition of my own music."
- Kenny Werner