The Yale Law School auditorium was packed as the 7th Annual Stan Wheeler Memorial Jazz Concert took off with two of the ensembles Wheeler played with during his long tenure at the law school.
The late Yale law prof and lifelong jazz trumpeter passed away in 2007. Since then his old band mates have each year reunited, dusted off their charts and performed at the law school in his memory, along with a new generation of the Yale Jazz Ensemble.
This year, the acclaimed tenor sax and alto flutist Paul Lieberman was the guest artist with the Yale Jazz Ensemble. He and Wheeler played together in the late 1970’s version of the Yale Jazz Ensemble.
The Jazz Ensemble’s program included an enthusiastic rendition of a tune entitled “Tom Yung Kung,” composed by Lamtharn (Hanoi) Hantrakul, the YJE pianist. He is a student at Morse College, where Wheeler once served as master.
Wheeler maintained a 30-year relationship with the Jazz Ensemble and played trumpet with Lieberman, Brad Dechter, Paul Sullivan, Steve Perrett, Frank Bennett and Jeff Fuller, a longtime New Haven music-scene stalwart.
Click on the video at the top of the story for a sample of what the crowd heard.
