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By JOSH Bayun Jv the festival’s artists-in-residence, will kick off the festival’s performance \
nk Staff Writer schedule. As accomplished band leaders, members of the sextet have per- S _
\ formed with jazz legends such as Max Roach, Curtis Fuller, Cab Calloway
By Josh Bayun JM
Staff Writer
With 1999 marking the cen
’- \ tennial of Duke Ellington’s
birth, this year’s Carolinajazz Festival will feature concerts,
workshops and jam sessions honoring the late performer’s
legacy.
Next week, the UNC-CH Department of Music plays host to the 22nd
annual Carolinajazz Festival. This year’s festival celebrates the impact
nie Kwh (,r„na larc CM... |to,
the music of Billy Stayhorn.
mm
other festivals around the country. “From the programming stand
point, it competes very well on a national level,” he said.
The weeklong festival has its share of concerts, but to set it apart
from other jazz festivals, it also offers educational experiences both
for players and the general public.
“The festival is a great opportunity to not only hear jazz, but
to learn from world-class players,” said Andrew Shapiro, a sopho
more business major from New York who plays in one of the
music department’s jazz combos on campus.
Ketch said the educational components of the festival, from the
high school jazz festival to “cutting-edge” research seminars, made
the UNC-CH’s festival more “unique” than other performance
driven festivals around the country.
The Carolinajazz Festival began as a one-day event in 1978.
Since then, it has grown into a six-day affair with backing from campus
and community groups. Local businesses provide hotels, transportation
and free airfare for the artists. The festival also receives financial support
from private patrons, the Carolina Union Performing Arts Committee, the
Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center, the Institute for African-American
Research, the Center of the American South, the Office of the Provost, the
Office of the Vice Provost and the UNC-CH and NCCU music depart
ments.
“If you take out any of those players (who financially support the fes-
tival), we’re in a lot of trouble,” Ketch said.
But the festival does not just run on financial sup
port, Ketch said. The students in the UNC
CH jazz studies program also dedicate time,
not only performing, but setting up equip
ment and monitoring the high school jazz fes
tival. However, the students also receive a
lion’s share of the guest artists’ time, he said.
The New York-based John Sneider Sextet,
Swing to Strings, Kick to Keys, Bounce to Brass All Week Long at the Jazz Festival
The 22nd annual Carolina lazz Festival runs from Feb. 22-28; mark your calendars and don't miss the six days of performances, lectures and talks.
Tuesday. Feb 23 at 8 p.m. - The John Sneider Sextet. Hill Hall Auditorium
SS general public. S2 students
Wednesday. Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. - Lecture: Galen Abdur-ltoaq on Women in
|azz Union Cabaret—Free admission
Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. - Jam Session: Galen Abdur-Razzaq, flute,
with The John Sneider Sextet and members of the UNC and NCCU jazz
ensembles Union Cabaret Free admission
Thursday Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. - Lush Life: The North Carolina Jazz Repertory
Orchestra Plays the Music of Billy Strayhorn James Ketch, music director.
Memorial Hall - sl2 general public, $6 students (reserved seating)
Friday, Feb. 26.9 a.m. to 5 pm. - Symposium: Beyond Category: The Life
and Musical Genius of Duke Ellington Featuring Mark Tucker, Robert
o‘Meaily, Krin Gabbard, Andrew Hornzy, Ingrid Monson, David Berger and
others. Person Recital Hall Free admission
V alje Satly Sar Ifri
Ellington’s life and music
have made in the musical
community during his 50-
year career.
The festival will feature
up-and-coming and estab
lished jazz players and
combos including The
Heath Brothers, Kevin
Mahogany, The John
Sneider Sextet and Galen
Abdur-Razzaq.
James Ketch, professor
of music and a festival
organizer, said the festival
held its own in
comparison with mmm *
ys in one of the jPjHj// \sJPlw i ies. “It supplements what we’re bop to ethereal funk.
■MBF Yhßas? i 4 already providing here in a big U^'S t 0 aver
festival, from the sBJKBHBBi I way. The festival is something ** accessible concert,
i seminars, made Tho H63th Brothers Jimmy, Percy and special for everyone here, but , , Ketch said. They r
ler performance- Albert will CO-headline the festival. it’s really special for all the * * . (concert-goers) goin
players,” he said. “Last year we to see a very pow
ty event in 1978. were up all night jamming; the
th backing from campus chemistry was just fantastic between even, one." If mance.
de hotels, transportation Co-headliners the Heath Brothers and the Kevin Mahongany Quintet a '*
eceives financial support will play the main concert Saturday. Mahongany. called “the standout jazz „ . The Diversior
ning Arts Committee, the vocalist of his generation” by Newsweek, opens up the show with his °
ite for African-American blend of down home blues, contemporary rhythm and blues, and swing.
Office of the Provost, the The Heath Brothers have shared the stage with sever- aesK@unc.eOL
id NCCU music depart- al jazz greats. Percy J 4
PP #•> \
SU P~ \
Long jazz
NT andNCCJiazzensembles Memorial Hail- $6
i :cS 3C pm - High School Jazz Festival Hill Hall jf t' <■
I Brothers With The Kevin f ***
reserved seating) Bafe,
Jr .
In addition to jamming with the John Sneider Sextet, flutist Galen Abdur-Razzaq will give a
lecture at the Union Cabaret.
Friday. Feb 26 at Bpm The John Sneider Sextet with Britt Woodman,
trombone, and the UNC and NCCU jazz ensembles Memorial Hall - $6
general public $3 students
Saturday, Feb. 27,8 a.m. to 530 p.m. - High School Jazz Festival Hill Hall
Auditorium Free admission
Saturday, Feb 27 at 8 pm.—The Heath Brothers with The Kevin
Mahogany Quintet Memorial Hall 524/S2O/ST6 general public
sl2/$lO/$8 students (reserved seating)
Sunday, Feb. 28.2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Collegiate Jazz Festival Featuring UNC
Jazz Band UNC Jazz Lab Band and UNC Jazz Combos, James Ketch and
Scott Warner, directors, and jazz ensembles from North Carolina colleges.
Great Hall in the Student Union free admission
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'Message In A Bottle' stars Kevin Costner in a love story that goes easy on the mush. ... page 9
the festival’s artists-in-residence, will kick off the festival’s performance
schedule. As accomplished band leaders, members of the sextet have per
formed with jazz legends such as Max Roach, Curtis Fuller, Cab Calloway
and newcomer Joshua Redman.
In addition to its Wednesday concert, the sextet will hold workshops
with UNC-CH and NCCU jazz studies students as well as members of
UNC-CH’s Jazz Band, Jazz Lab Band and Jazz Combos. It will also visit
area high schools. Ketch said these activities fulfilled the festival’s mission
to reach out to students across North Carolina.
The N.C. Jazz Repertory Orchestra, headed by Ketch, will perform a
concert entitled “Billy Strayhom’s Music for Jazz Orchestra.” The 16-
member orchestra will perform many of Ellington’s orchestra’s mainstays
as well as newfound tunes of Billy Strayhorn, Ellington’s chief arranger,
co-composer and “musical alter ego.”
The orchestra, comprised of educators from UNC-CH, UNC-
Greensboro, NCCU, East Carolina, Pembroke and Duke Universities,
specializes in presenting the work of Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Kenton
and others. By trying to authentically present works from classic jazz
repertoire, Ketch said, the orchestra distinguished itself from many other
jazz ensembles around the country. He said fans would have to travel to
more urban areas like New York City and Chicago to find programming
of similar quality. “There’s not many groups in the country tackling works
like ours,” he said.
The jam session featuring the UNC-CH and NCCU Jazz Bands and
The John Sneider Sextet, under the direction of Ketch and NCCU direc-
Albert will co-headline the festival.
Thursday, February 18, 1999 ■
tor Ira Wiggins, gives the festi
val another dimension.
NCCU’s band has performed
overseas at several jazz festivals
as well as at the White House.
“Jamming with such great
players really reinforces what
we’re saying,” said Scott
Warner, professor of jazz stud
ies. “It supplements what we’re
already providing here in a big
way. The festival is something
special for everyone here, but
it’s really special for all the
players,” he said. “Last year we
were up all night jamming; the
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The 22nd annual
Carolina Jazz
Testival swings into
action next week
with performances
and workshops.
David Berkman plays piano as a member
of the John Sneider Sextet.
I •
I J|
ft ■ J|j||
* -v
played bass with one of the most recognizable names of the bop era, the
Modem Jazz Quartet. In 1959, Jimmy Heath briefly replaced John
Coltrane in the Miles Davis Quartet before forming his own group. And
Tootie Heath played drums and recorded with Coltrane in the early 1960s
and Herbie Hancock in the late ’6os before the three brothers formed the
Heath Brothers Quartet. The
group’s style ranges from hard
bop to ethereal funk.
“It’s going to be a very
accessible concert,”
Ketch said. “They’re
(concert-goers) going
to see a very pow
erful perfor
-j mance.”
■ The Diversions
p Editors can be
gfc reached at arts
desk@unc.edu.