Jazz Studies Groups to Present 'Celebration' Concert
JONESBORO – Arkansas State University's jazz studies program will present “Celebration,” featuring the music and work of the new jazz studies faculty member Michael Medrick, at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 12, in Riceland Hall of Fowler Center.
The evening will feature performances by the two large ensembles, A-State Jazz Lab, and the premier ensemble, A-State Jazz Orchestra.
"The program runs the complete gamut from dance band music from the legendary swing era to exciting fresh sounds of today’s jazz," according to Dr. Kenneth Carroll, director of the jazz studies program.
Lab Band will open the program under Medrick's direction with a traditional Bennie Carter blues arrangement for the Count Basie Orchestra, “Easy Money,” followed by Kenny Dorham’s “Minor Holiday."
Kansas City jazz artist and composer Melba Liston’s ballad “Just Waiting” features the graceful swing of the dance band era. The Lab Band set will conclude with another Tom O’Connor original, “Saturday Night in Little Havana."
After a brief stage change, the A-State Jazz Orchestra will open with Duke Ellington’s classic swinger “Main Stem.” The band really enjoys the Ray Brown composition “Parking Lot Blues,” arranged for the band by Medrick and dedicated to all who search for a spot. The band also will play “Bright Eyes," which was arranged by Bill Holman for the Stan Kenton Orchestra.
The high point of the evening will be “It Never Entered My Mind,” a Rodgers/Hart ballad. Written for the Australian National Jazz Ensemble, A-State jazz studies students are eager to present this great music featuring talented trombonist Tyler Tanksley, the most recent recipient of the Thomas Miles O’Connor Jazz Scholarship.
The evening comes to a close with Medrick's arrangement of Makoto Ozone’s “Times Like These,” made famous by Pat Metheny and Michael Brecker.
"Remember, jazz is America’s music," Carroll added. "Come out to the show, enjoy an evening of exciting music performed by world class artists, and support your country’s most important export: jazz."
Admission to the concert is $5, or free for A-State students with an ID.
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