The Studio Jazz Ensemble (Jacob Zimmerman, director) performs big band arrangements and repertory selections. The Modern Band (Cuong Vu, director) performs innovative arrangements of jazz standards, selections from the outer limits of the genre, and new original compositions.
Biographies
Cuong Vu is widely recognized by jazz critics as a leader of a generation of innovative musicians. A truly unique musical voice, Cuong has lent his trumpet playing to a wide range of artists such as Pat Metheny, Laurie Anderson, and David Bowie.
As a youngster, Cuong's intense dedication and love for music led him to a full scholarship at the New England Conservatory of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music in Jazz studies with a distinction in performance. Transitioning from his studies in Boston, he moved to New York in 1994 and began his career actively leading various groups while touring extensively throughout the world. As a leader, Cuong has released eight recordings, each making critics’ lists of the 10 best recordings of their respective years and has received rave reviews from notable publications such as the New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s, the Guardian, BBC Music Magazine, JazzTimes and Downbeat. Each record displays how he has carved out a distinctive sonic territory as a trumpet player, blurring all stylistic borders while developing his own compositional aesthetic and sound world.
Awards and honors that Cuong has garnered include grants from the Royalty Research Foundation, the Donald E. Petersen Professorship, ArtistTrust, 4Culture, CityArts and the Colbert Award for Excellence. Cuong is currently associate professor and chair of Jazz Studies at the University of Washington and was awarded the University of Washington's prestigious Distinguished Teacher Award in his third year on faculty. In 2002 and 2006, Cuong was a recipient of the Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album as a member of the Pat Metheny Group. He’s been recognized as one of the top 50 Jazz Artists in an article called “The New Masters” from the British magazine, “Classic CD” and in 2006 was named the Best International Jazz Artist by the Italian Jazz Critics’ Society. Amazon listed Vu’s “Come Play With Me” on their “The 100 Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time.”
Jacob Zimmerman was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He was a member of the award-winning Garfield High School Jazz Band studying under Clarence Acox. He moved first to Boston to study jazz saxophone at The New England Conservatory and then the Bay Area to study composition at Mills College. After moving back to Seattle in 2012, he began to establish himself as an in-demand freelance saxophonist and clarinetist. He developed a reputation for specializing in earlier jazz from the “78-rpm era” (1920s-50s). Jacob has performed for many swing dance and traditional jazz events both nationally and internationally. In 2019 he joined up with Rachael & Vilray whose first two albums (“Rachael & Vilray” and “I Love A Love Song!”) prominently feature Jacob’s playing and arranging.
As a bandleader Jacob plays concerts and holds down several weekly gigs in Seattle. His most recent recordings captured the sound of his regular working band. Known for a deep knowledge of the American Songbook and jazz repertoire, Jacob is a valued member of local bands led by Ray Skjelbred, Jonathan Doyle and many others.