Bucknell Jazz & Rock Ensemble(BJRE)

The Bucknell Jazz & Rock Ensemble (BJRE) was a student run big band at Bucknell University from Sept 1971 through May 1997.  Started by Barry Raphael in Sept 1971, the big band evolved through the years but kept a few key components; passion, fun, the thrill of making music, and being student run! 
BJRE played music written for big bands from the classic jazz idiom (Glenn Miller, Count Basie) to modern jazz composers like Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich,  Chuck Mangione, Chick Corea, Spyro Grya, and on to big band arrangements of ‘pop’ music tunes such as Kool & the Gang, Celebration, Reasons, In the Stone, Heat Wave, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Everybody’s Everything, and Things Can Only Get Better.  BJRE played these 3 different styles of big band music, that flexibility was key for many years to getting gigs and for keeping players interested.