UNO Jazz Band Drops First-Ever Album with Grammy Artist

November 18th, 2025

The music audiences will hear tonight inside the Strauss Performing Arts Center has never been broadcast or performed publicly before. After more than two years of recording, refining, and producing, the University of Nebraska at Omaha Jazz Band is unveiling the first official CD release in the history of its jazz program. The project is a collaboration with Latin Grammy winner José Valentino, and it almost did not happen, but its impact on the students who made it possible is already undeniable.

For Pete Madsen, who has coordinated UNO’s jazz studies program since 2000, the album marks a milestone unlike any other. During his 26 years in Omaha, Madsen has seen the city’s jazz scene evolve from quiet and overlooked to vibrant and nationally engaged. This CD, he says, began with a moment of pure chance.

A Chance Idea Becomes a Major Project

“We have been presenting a Latin jazz concert every fall for the past five years,” Madsen says. “One of our guest artists was José Valentino, a fantastic multi-instrumentalist and Latin Grammy winner. We performed several of his compositions, and the idea actually came from him. He told us, ‘I have produced and recorded hundreds of albums, but I have never created a recording of my own music with a big band. I want to do that, and I want the UNO Jazz Band to be the ensemble that records my work.’”

What started as an offhand proposal soon turned into a two and a half year commitment that offered students a rare professional level experience. Valentino spent nearly a week at UNO’s recording studio, working ten to fourteen hour days with students and shaping every detail of the music with the precision of an experienced producer.

A Professional Studio Experience for Students

The album’s nine tracks feature Valentino on multiple instruments along with student musicians who worked closely with him in the studio.

“The opportunity to record in a high level studio with a producer who has earned Latin Grammy Awards, DownBeat Awards, and Global Music Awards was incredibly special,” Madsen says. “We are very excited to perform the music from the CD with José Valentino as part of this evening’s release celebration.”

Tonight’s performance will include seven of the nine tracks on the album as well as an additional piece that does not appear on the recording.

A First Listen for the Performers

The event begins early. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a complete playback of the album through the concert hall sound system. For the students who spent long hours recording their parts, this will be the first time they hear the finished and mastered version of the music.

“That will actually be the first time that the students on the CD get to hear it,” Madsen says.

Admission to the event is free, although donations are welcome. Guests who contribute fifteen dollars or more will receive a copy of the CD, which helps cover production costs and supports future student projects.

As the UNO Jazz Band steps onstage at 7:30 p.m., they will be celebrating more than a performance. They will be marking a defining moment for the program, one that began with a simple idea, grew through long hours in the studio, and now lives on through the work of a new generation of Omaha jazz musicians.