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Clash of the College Bands Tourney Begins Now! Week 1: University of Miami Concert Jazz Band vs. Princeton University Big Band

You may remember a few months back I was taking requests from you for the top college or university big bands in the country, so we could set up a little tournament for these bands (see Clash of the College Bands).

Well the nominations came in, and the bracket is set. Now it is up to you to see who wins. Here is how it works:

Each week, two college or university big bands will “face off”. You, as the reader, will listen to a song from each band, and then vote for the one you like the best. After the week is over, one team will move on to the next round, and we will feature two new bands. The last band standing is the Clash of the College Bands winner.

You may view the tournament bracket by clicking here.

Below are the first two school bands, the University of Miami Concert Jazz Band vs. Princeton University Big Band.

Click on the link for each school. Audio will begin in a new page. After you have listened to each band, vote on the one you like the best.

University of Miami Concert Jazz Band – Nasty Blues (audio made available by YouTube post)

Princeton University Big Band – Mean What You Say (audio sample made available by Princeton University School of Music Website)

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Clash of the College Jazz Bands

I am a big sports fan, and an even bigger fan of college sports. Moreover, I could gladly sit in front of the TV the last week of December and early January watching bowl game after bowl game, or catch all 63 games of the NCAA basketball tournament in March without feeling the need to do anything else.

As a (former) musician and a (former) athlete, I wish for the same sort of intense, national tournament-style competition among college jazz bands as I do with college sports.

First of all, I know that we would never see a national college jazz band tournament on ESPN. And I also acknowledge that yes, there are college competitions around the country, but I feel that some are regional, and in some cases some bands may not have the funds or time to participate in larger competitions. Therefore we may have not seen the ultimate college band competition among the top college bands in the nation.

I want to see it. But the reality of seeing an event like this live is not all that likely.

So here is what I want to do. I want to collect nominations from you, the readers, for the top college and university bands in the country over the next month or so. After that, I will come up with a way to narrow it down to the “Sweet 16”, and create a bracket with these college bands going head to head. I will pick one song from each band, post the audio, you can listen, and you will vote on which band in each head to head match up you like better. The band receiving the most votes will move on to the next round, until one band is crowned national champion.

So here is what I need from you: College or University jazz big band nominations. In the comment box, just write the name of the college that the band is from. The band gets bonus points if you can include a link to current audio from the band or where I can track down the bands most recent CD.

The only rule is that the band nominated, and the audio suggested, is from the last year or so. So please don’t suggest the University of Nebraska Jazz Band from 1977, or something like that. Below is an example of what I am looking for (and officially the first nomination):

I would like to nominate:

The University of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band

Their website is:

http://www.jazz.unt.edu/

Their latest CD is:

Lab 2009

You can hear them play on YouTube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KySqDcw-gGg

You don’t have to submit all of the above information, but it will earn the band bonus points when it comes time to design the tournament. At the very least you have to send me the band name.

I think this will be fun…so let the games begin. All nominations will be considered, and nominate as many schools as you like.