Pete Petersen & the Collection Jazz Orchestra

by Richard Veit

Jazz lovers from across north and central Texas will converge on Baylor University's Jones Concert Hall Friday night when Pete Petersen brings his famed Collection Jazz Orchestra to Waco to record their next live CD. The concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m., also will feature a set of pieces played by the Baylor Jazz Ensemble I, with Vern Sielert conducting.
Formed in 1979 by American Airlines pilot Pete Petersen, The Collection Jazz Orchestra has become one of the country's most respected big band ensembles. Its 24 members boast impressive credentials, including performances and recordings with some of the top names in the music industry, such as Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Luciano Pavarotti and Ella Fitzgerald. Most of the Collection Jazz Orchestra's musicians are graduates of the University of North Texas, and many are alumni of the Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich and Ray Charles bands.
The program will include "Twelfth-Street Rag," "Melancholy Baby," "If You Could See Me Now," "Five'll Getcha Ten," "You and the Night and the Music," "Love Letters" and "Almost Like Being in Love."
The Baylor Jazz Ensemble will open the concert with Toshiko Akiyoshi's "Tuning Up," Frank Mantooth's "Parasite," John Clayton's "Blues for Stephanie" and Sammy Nestico's arrangement of "Sweet Georgia Brown."
This concert, which will be recorded for national release on compact disc, is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Baylor School of Music at 710-3991.