MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — MTSU’s annual Illinois Jacquet Jazz Festival has
expanded to three days with three special featured artists to help the MTSU
School of Music close out its 2016-17 Jazz Artist Series.
Jamey Simmons, director of MTSU’s Jazz Studies
Program, said renowned saxophonist Rich
Perry, the U.S. Army Jazz
Ambassadors and “Jazz Master” award winner and jazz educator Jamey Aebersold will be part of
concerts and special clinics presented Thursday through Saturday, March 23-25.
“This
year’s festival features a unique triple bill that is a must-see for jazz
students and audiences,” Simmons said.
Aebersold,
who is a saxophonist, will open the festival at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 23,
joining students for a free, public jazz improvisation clinic in Hinton Hall
inside MTSU’s Wright Music Building.
“As an
author, clinician, performer, publisher and owner of jazzbooks.com, Aebersold has influenced several generations of musicians
with the philosophy that ‘anyone can improvise,’” said Simmons.
At 7:30
p.m. on Friday, March 24 the Jazz Ambassadors, the premier big band of the U.S.
Army, will perform a free concert in Hinton Hall. Formed in 1969, the
Washington, D.C.-based ensemble performs a variety of jazz styles at home and
abroad.
And at 7:30
p.m. on Saturday, March 25, Perry will join the MTSU Faculty Jazztet and the MTSU
Jazz Ensemble 1 for the final concert of the festival as well as the final
concert of this season’s MTSU Jazz Artist Series.
General
admission tickets for the Jazz Artist Series concert are $10 each; tickets are free
for MTSU students, faculty and staff with a current MTSU ID. Discounts for area
band students and educators are also available.
Perry
also will teach a free public jazz clinic beginning at 2:10 p.m. March 25 in
Hinton Music Hall.
“The (Saturday)
evening concert will showcase Perry’s abilities alongside our student and
faculty artists,” said Simmons. “It caps the daylong educational festival for
area middle and high school jazz students.”
To
reserve tickets for the March 25 Jazz Artist Series concert, call Simmons at
615-898-2724 or email James.Simmons@mtsu.edu.
The MTSU
Jazz Artist Series, which is closing out its 18th season, brings
internationally renowned jazz artists to campus for performances and
educational workshops.
The
annual Jazz Festival, an educational event, offers junior high and high school
instrumental and vocal students an individual focus on the jazz style and the art
of jazz improvisation. The full schedule is available at http://www.mtsu.edu/music/jazzfest.php.
The MTSU
School of Music renamed its annual Jazz Festival in 2016 to honor the American
jazz tenor saxophonist Jean-Baptiste “Illinois” Jacquet, who died in 2004 after
a storied 60-year-plus career that deeply influenced artists in jazz, rhythm
and blues and rock ‘n’ roll.
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