Announcing Green Bay Jazz Fest 2024
Wycliffe Gordon Headlines This Year’s Festival April 13 at The Weidner with Green Bay Jazz Orchestra
Green Bay, Wis. – The Sharon J. Resch Institute of Music at UW-Green Bay and The Weidner are pleased to announce world-renowned jazz musician Wycliffe Gordon will headline Green Bay Jazz Fest 2024 with a live a concert featuring the Green Bay Jazz Orchestra Saturday, April 13 at The Weidner. Tickets on-sale now at WeidnerCenter.com!
Green Bay Jazz Fest 2024 will take place April 8-13, with specially curated events celebrating all things jazz with live music, film screenings, and educational outreach to student musicians across the state. Events will take place across the UW-Green Bay campus, on-stage at The Weidner, as well as downtown at The Tarlton Theatre and Copper State Brewing Co.
Wycliffe Gordon is not only one of the premiere trombonists in the world, but also one of the most charismatic and engaging educators in jazz,” says Adam Gaines, Festival Director and Professor of Music at UW-Green Bay. “Students and audiences alike are in for a real treat, and we couldn’t me more excited to have him playing and working with the Green Bay musical community for Jazz Fest!”
In addition to the finale concert on Saturday, Wycliffe Gordon will also perform the night before (April 12) with student musicians from UW-Green Bay’s Jazz Ensemble One, and the All-City Jazz Ensemble, which is made up of the best and brightest high school jazz musicians from 11 local high schools.
Sam Stranz, All-City Jazz Ensemble co-director and saxophonist with Green Bay Jazz Orchestra, says Green Bay Jazz Fest is a fantastic chance for students meet like-minded people and to learn from the pros.
“For the high schoolers, this experience is a taste of jazz in college – a time of intense focus centered around common passions combined with up close interactions with professional jazz musicians. The UW Green Bay Jazz One members will have the added bonus of performing with Wycliffe Gordon – an experience they’ll never forget. As an educator, I’m extremely excited to share in bringing these opportunities to the young musicians of our community. And as a performer, I’m taken back to the eagerness and elation I felt at my very first jazz festival – ready to become a student again.”
The festival kicks of Monday evening (April 8) at The Tarlton Theatre with an intercontinental celebration of the universal language of jazz by the faculty of the Resch Institute and Silpakorn University. Joining Green Bay’s finest to perform a night of originals and standards are guitarist Wootichai Lertsatakit and percussionist Hong Chanutr Techatananan all the way from Bangkok, Thailand.
Further highlights include a celebratory concert of Charles Mingus, Jr. (1922-1979) aptly named Mingusfest. Born in 2001 at Luna Café, Mingusfest features the same core group of musicians for over 20 years, performing Mingus’ greatest works. And don’t miss out on a film screening of the 1988 biopic, “Bird,” directed by Clint Eastwood about the life of legendary saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker – starring Forest Whitaker. Both of these events (and more) are free to attend and open to the public.
The 2024 festival marks the 54th year of Green Bay Jazz Fest, making it the second longest running festival of its kind in Wisconsin. Founded in 1970 by Wayne Jaeckel and Lovell Ives, the festival welcomes hundreds of middle and high school students to the UW-Green Bay campus for educational and performance opportunities with professional and academic musicians each year.
List of Green Bay Jazz Fest 2024 Events
Kick Off Party at The Tarlton Theatre
Monday, April 8 | 7:30 PM
Free Admission – Donations Appreciated
Performers: Wootichai Lertsatakit, Hong Chanutr Techatananan (Silpakorn University, Thailand), Resch Institute Faculty Combo
Jazz, Blues & Brews at Copper State Brewing Co.
Tuesday, April 9 | 6 PM – 9 PM
Performers: Harmon Brothers and more
“Bird” (1988, dir. Clint Eastwood) – Film Screening at The Tarlton Theatre
Wednesday, April 10 | 7 PM
Free Admission
Mingusfest at The Tarlton Theatre
Thursday, April 11 | 6 PM
Free Admission – Donations Appreciated
Performers: Green Bay Jazz Orchestra & Mingus Combo – Nick Utrie, Cully Swanson, Steve Johnson, James LeFevre, and special guest Adam Gaines.
All-City Jazz Ensemble & UWGB Jazz Ensemble One – featuring Wycliffe Gordon at The Weidner
Friday, April 12 | 7:30 PM
Free Admission – Donations Appreciated
Wycliffe Gordon with the Green Bay Jazz Orchestra at The Weidner – Headline Concert
Saturday, April 13 | 7:30 PM
General Admission Tickets – $38 Adults, $15 Students, $27 Weidner Members
Late Night Jam at The Tarlton Theatre
Saturday, April 13 | 9:30 PM
Free Admission
Tickets for Wycliffe Gordon with the Green Bay Jazz Orchestra are on-sale now through Ticket Star at WeidnerCenter.com, TicketStarOnline.com or by calling Ticketing Star at 800.895.0071
For additional information on Green Bay Jazz Fest 2024 and all festival events visit WeidnerCenter.com.
About The Weidner
The Weidner at UW-Green Bay is known for its elegant design and the acoustic excellence of its 2,000-seat main hall, Cofrin Family Hall. It also houses two smaller performance spaces, the Fort Howard recital hall and the Jean Weidner Theatre, along with a dance studio and Grand Foyer. The Weidner has a distinct benefit in being part of a leading institution of higher learning. The Weidner is a home for UW-Green Bay Music and Theatre and Dance programs, community events and productions, and performances by visiting artists and touring companies. Beyond the large-scale touring productions that grace the stage, The Weidner also focuses on scholastic development, programming and an impactful education series — Stage Doors. For more information visit WeidnerCenter.com and sign-up for The Weidner Wire.
Follow: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Tik Tok
About the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a school of resilient problem solvers who dare to reach higher with the power of education that ignites growth and answers the biggest challenges. Serving 10,300 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students as well as 67,500 continuing education learners annually, UW-Green Bay offers 200 academic degrees, programs, and certificates. With four campus locations in Northeast Wisconsin, the University’s access mission welcomes all students who want to learn, from every corner of the world. Championing bold thinking since opening its doors in 1965, it is a university on the rise – Wisconsin’s fastest growing UW. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.
