New Jersey Blues & Jazz Festival

The Rutgers Jazz Ensemble joins this year's New Jersey Blues & Jazz Festival line-up! The Rutgers Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Conrad Herwig, is the top student jazz ensemble at Mason Gross School of the Arts. Joining the ensemble is Grammy® Award-winning trumpeter Randy Brecker, best known for his work with Blood, Sweat and Tears; The Brecker Brothers; and Larry Coryell's Eleventh House.

The Rutgers Jazz Ensemble has performed at the Blue Note, Town Hall, and Symphony Space, and in Japan by invitation of the Governor of the Fukui Prefecture. Some notable alumni of the Ensemble include Terrence Blanchard, Ralph Peterson, Steve Nelson, Harry Pickens, Michael Mossman, Jerry Weldon, Harry Allen, Jeff Rupert, Yoron Israel, Ken Filiano, Derrick Gardner, Sean Jones, Terrell Stafford, and Lee Hogans.