West Coast trumpeter headlines Jazz Fest XXXX at UW-Green Bay
Renowned jazz trumpeter Jeff Jarvis will be the headline performer and lecturer for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Jazz Fest XXXX.
Jazz Fest, which includes a full day of performances and music education on campus, is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 30. A public concert begins at 4 p.m. in the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, 2420 Nicolet Drive.
Jarvis is director of Jazz Studies at California State University Long Beach. He frequently appears as an honors jazz band conductor, clinician and lecturer. He has also collaborated on textbooks about jazz education.
In his youth he was a studio musician and was featured on more than 100 albums for such names as Lou Rawls, Melba Moore and the O’Jays. On stage he has performed with an equally impressive array of talent, including Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Bellson, Benny Golson, Joe Lovano and Henry Mancini.
Of course, the day is far more than a public concert. Many area middle school and high school jazz bands and combos will be at the University for master classes, clinics with featured guests and alumni, performance, adjudication, instructional clinics and social activities. It’s expected that about 25 ensembles will participate.
“It’s one of the longest running jazz festivals in the state and the focus is as much on education as performance,” said UW-Green Bay Prof. John Salerno, who directs Jazz Fest and is the University’s director of jazz activities. “We want the students to experience great jazz, but also to go home from the festival inspired to learn more.”
And home is not limited to the immediate area, Salerno said. The list of participating bands is still incomplete, but groups from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and as far west as Eau Claire have already pre-registered.
“We have performances at four venues — two big band sites, a combo site and vocal jazz,” Salerno added.
There will also be a master session with Jarvis, a directors’ clinic with UW-Green Bay Prof. Adam Gaines, and awards for outstanding soloists. Two participating ensembles will be selected to open the evening concert at the Weidner Center.
For more information about Jeff Jarvis: http://www.jeffjarvis.net/
For more information about Jazz Fest, contact Jazz Fest Director John Salerno at (920) 465-2555, or salernoj@uwgb.edu
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