Trumpeter-clinician Shew was a familiar figure at one time, touring the UK regularly under the auspices of promoter Ernie Garside, happy to play a quartet gig or to front a big band, as here. Of late, I've heard little of him so it's good to be reminded of his exceptional skills as both soloist and lead man. Essentially, he's a powerhouse player, known as a high-note specialist yet a man who was also capable of playing a ballad with pleasing sensitivity. His ‘Red Snapper’ opens, the arrangement by Don Menza, this 19-piece student orchestra energetic and accomplished, relishing the chance to show off their collective chops, even if the drummer is over-prominent and clattery. Shew solos at length, boppish and fluent, bass-guitar rumbling, the drummer again over-assertive. Even if the orchestral playing lacks relaxation, he sounds at ease. ‘Stevie's Wonders’, arranged by Mike Miller is softer, Shew using flugelhorn to establish a mood, soaring over the ensemble, before the drummer moves briefly into jazzrock syncopations, for a bravura finish. Streisand's ‘Evergreen’ in Bob Ojeda's arrangement is pure beauty, Shew's flugel the standout. Later tracks include Wayne Shorter's ‘Yes or No’, the band's alto soloists in flying mode. As with all college bands, you sometimes feel less might be more, with much of the writing heavily weighted towards over-kill but there's no doubting their NYJO-ish zest even if the rhythm section seems a stranger to swing. Ten pieces, a bevy of arrangers, a few decent soloists but it's Shew's playing that carries the day. Buy the album and help to fund the Bobby Shew Lead Trumpet Scholarship at UOF.