The Wayne State University Jazz Lab Band I under the direction of Christopher Collins will be performing a "Count Basie Tribute Concert" at The First Baptist Church in Birmingham on Sunday, April 27 at 6 p.m. The concert is part of the church's B-Jazz Vespers Series and will feature big band Jazz Legend Mel Wanzo, former Count Basie Orchestra member. The concert is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, call (248) 644-0550.

The B-Jazz Vespers Series is celebrating its 7th season of Detroit Jazz at The First Baptist Church, located in Birmingham on the corner of Willits and Bates, north of Maple and west of Old Woodward. The April 27th concert featuring the WSU Jazz Lab Band I is the second to last concert in the series.

Mel Wanzo served as lead trombonist for the world famous Count Basie Orchestra from 1969 to 1996. Mel toured and recorded for over 40 years with many of history's great jazz artists, including Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Mel played with Joe Cooper's All Stars at the Ebony Lounge, hosting national touring artists who came through the city.

Mel's career has included six Grammy Awards and a Command Performance for the Queen of England. Since retiring from the Count Basie Orchestra in 1996, he has remained active with Johnny Trudell, as well as other big bands in the Detroit area. Mel has been serving as a mentor for WSU Jazz Bands since 1997.

Jazz Lab Band I, directed by Christopher Collins, is WSU's elite big band. The group performs a wide range of traditional and contemporary repertoire. In 1980 it played to enthusiastic audiences at the Montreux Switzerland Jazz Festival. The group has also been a regularly featured school group at the Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival in Detroit, Michigan. In January 2003, Jazz Lab Band I was featured in the Showcase Concert for the 56th Annual Michigan Music Education In-Service Conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jazz Band I regularly competes at the Aquinas Jazz Festival in Grand Rapids Michigan, bringing top honors to Wayne State in the group and individual categories.

Jazz Lab Band I performs throughout the year on Wayne State's campus, as well as within in the community. The group has performed with and/or participated in jazz clinics with guest artists such as LA woodwind artist Terry Harrington, drummer Bob Harsen, jazz violinist and arranger Don Palmer, New York trumpet artist Marvin Stamm, as well as WSU faculty jazz pianists Matt Michaels and Dennis Tini.

Wayne State University Department of Music is celebrating 84 years of artistic and academic excellence. The Department's faculty includes renowned jazz artists, composers, scholars, educators and members of the internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra. WSU alumni have gone on to careers in distinguished orchestras, ensembles and as soloists and music educators the world over. For more information on the Department of Music, call (313) 577-1795 or visit the WSU Department of Music Web site.