No doubt about it, Downbeat magazine is keen on the jazz being performed at Sacramento State University.
That much was made evident recently when Downbeat magazine - the jazz world's premier publication - awarded its Outstanding Performance Recognition award to CSUS' Latin Jazz Band and the Sacramento State Jazz Singers.
And it's keen on what's being arranged there too.
CSUS students Ian Brekke and Kate Janzen were picked as two of five winners in the magazine's Jazz Arranging award category.
The awards were formally announced in Downbeat's May issue. It's the fifth time that the magazine has recognized ensembles at CSUS.
The awards come way of Instrumental Jazz program director Steve Roach and his vocal jazz counterpart Kerry Marsh, who both submitted professionally recorded samples of each group's work.
Students used Capistrano Hall's Music Recital Hall and other department facilities to record their works.
Arranger Brekke was recognized for his big-band arrangement of Geoffrey Keezer's "Port Alexander Moon," which he turned into a six-part a cappella vocal piece.
Janzen did the same for "Baby Mine," the hit song from the Disney movie Dumbo. She first adapted the song to an all-female jazz version a few years ago and expanded it this year to include male voices.
To hear selections from the Latin Jazz Ensemble go to www.csus.edu/music/jazz/, then the Latin Jazz button on the left.
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