Gardiner chose 18 musicians for the ensemble because it is the standard instrumentation for a big band as it has evolved over the last 120 years.
“Our goal is to present jazz concerts at the highest artistic level.” “This ensemble is made up of some of the most outstanding jazz musicians, soloists and band leaders across the Carolinas,” said Gardiner, now in his 16th year as Professor of Music at Lander. The idea had first occurred to him in the late 1980s – but over the next 30 years, through marriage, children, and both public school and college teaching, it always seemed too ambitious to attempt.īut the 2017 SC Jazz festival changed his mind because “it was just so much fun.” So he told a musician friend, then a musician he didn’t know, and then another …Īnd now, after a year of planning, assembling, and handling tons of details, Gardiner and 17 musicians from across South Carolina have just launched the SC Jazz Masterworks Ensemble – an 18-piece big band geared toward the study and play of Duke Ellington and other mid-20th century jazz greats. Robert Gardiner was playing at the South Carolina Jazz Festival when a nagging thought re-appeared: Why not create a professional, statewide jazz ensemble? Lander professor creates long-awaited statewide jazz ensemble. In October 2017, Dr.
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