To many, the month of April means rain, thunderstorms, the return of baseball or perhaps…April 2 – International Pillow Fight Day (Always the first Saturday), April 5 – National Deep Dish Pizza Day, April 8 – National Be Kind to Lawyers Day, or April 21 – National Bulldogs are Beautiful Day. To jazz fans however, April represents Jazz Appreciation Month, and brings yearly festivals at local universities with copious amounts of entertaining and enlightening jazz to check out around Central Ohio. For this edition of Jazz Ed, I will provide information about each festival all in one place and hopefully help you make it out to as many concerts, clinics, and master classes as possible.
Denison University – Jazz Weekend
Overview: This year’s DU Jazz Weekend includes two can’t miss concerts on Saturday, April 2nd, and Sunday, April 3rd. In addition to featuring student and faculty musicians, the festival will host Detroit and CJO trumpeter Dwight Adams on the Saturday concert and Bobby Floyd and Jim Rupp on the Sunday Concert. Click here for more info about Dwight Adams.
Location: Burke Hall of Music and Art, Recital Hall, Denison University, 240 West Broadway, Granville, OH 43023
Price: FREE
Schedule:
Saturday, April 2nd, 7pm: Denison Faculty Jazz Ensemble and the Denison University Big Band with guest Dwight Adams on trumpet
Sunday, April 3rd, 4pm: Tom Carroll Recital: “Art of the Jazz Organ Trio,” with very special guests Bobby Floyd on Hammond organ and Jim Rupp on drums
Independent of the Denison University Festival but also of interest:
Friday, April 1st, 7:30pm: Pete Mills/Erik Augis Quintet featuring Dwight Adams at Bungalow Jazz, 2539 East Fifth Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43219
Ohio State University – 39th Annual Jazz Festival
Overview: This year’s OSU Jazz festival includes special guest Quamon Fowler, saxophone, whose month long residency culminates with a master class on Wednesday, March 30th and the headlining concert on Saturday, April 2nd. Click here to read more about Quamon Fowler. Also of note is the OSU Jazz Ensemble concert on Thursday, March 31st which is themed “The Music of North and South America” and will include music by: Astor Piazzolla (Argentina), Dori Cyammi and Moacir Santos (Brazil), Mario Bauzá (Cuba) and more. Full festival details are available here.
Location: Weigel Hall Auditorium, 1866 College Rd N, Columbus, OH 43210
Price: FREE
Schedule:
Wednesday, March 30th, 5:30-7pm: Quamon Fowler Master Class – Marketing
Thursday, March 31st, 8pm: Ohio State Jazz Ensemble, directed by Kris Keith. “The Music of North and South America” with guest Mark Rubinstein, accordion
Friday, April 1st, 8pm: Faculty: The Ohio Jaztet – Shawn Wallace, saxophones and flute; Anthony Stanco, trumpet; Kevin Turner, guitar; Andy Woodson, bass; and Jim Rupp, drums
Saturday, April 2nd, 10am-4pm: College Jazz Band Day – OSU jazz combos, the Jazz Lab Ensemble, the Jazz Workshop Ensemble and guests
Saturday, April 2nd, 8pm: Jazz Festival Headliner: Quamon Fowler, saxophone, accompanied by The Ohio Jaztet
Sunday, April 3rd, 10am-5pm: High School Jazz Band Day – High school jazz ensembles from Ohio and beyond
Ohio University – Athens Jazz Festival
Overview: This year’s Athens/OU jazz festival will feature renowned Chicago saxophonist Chris Madsen and guest clinicians Sean Parsons, Linda Landis, and Kyle Andrews. Also performing will be the OU Jazz ensembles under the direction of Matt James and Sean Parsons.
Price: FREE
Location: Various Venues in Athens, Ohio
Schedule:
Friday, April 15th: Evening concert featuring guest composer/arranger/saxophonist Chris Madsen
Saturday, April 16th: High School Invitational, morning/afternoon, Memorial Auditorium, Ohio University
PLUS 7:30pm Concert featuring Chris Madsen with Ohio University Jazz Ensembles, Memorial Auditorium
Sunday, April 17th: Ohio University Jazz Combos, Jackie O’s Public House, 22 W. Union, Athens
Capital University – 22nd Annual Jazz and World Music Festival
Overview: This year’s festival celebrates the 40th birthday of the Capital University Jazz Studies Program and honors the program’s founder, Ray Eubanks. A great roster of world-class jazz artists, many of which are alumni, will be on hand serving as performers, adjudicators and guest artists throughout the festival. The festival kicks off with recitals by juniors and graduating seniors over the first two nights. A wide variety of concerts and clinics, including a selection of outdoor performances, will take place from April 11th to the 26th – the full schedule and further details are available here.
Price: FREE
Location: Various venues on the Capital University Campus in Bexley
Schedule highlights:
Monday, April 11th, 7:30-10pm: Recitals: Rachel Spencer, trumpet; Jacob Campbell, piano; Marty Quinn, bass; Steven Jacobs, trumpet at Huntington Recital Hall
Tuesday, April 12th, 8-10pm: Recitals: Kyle Gentile, percussion; Adam Hoffman, percussion at Huntington Recital Hall
Wednesday, April 13th, 8-9:30pm: Alumni Ensembles Concert at Huntington Recital Hall
Thursday, April 14th, 8-10pm: Alumni Jam at Café Jazz at One Main Café
Friday, April 15th, 8am-6pm: Jazz Ensemble Invitational at Mees Hall and Huntington Recital Hall
Saturday, April 16th, 1-6pm: Community Celebration Concert featuring student ensembles at Plaza and Yochum Stages
Monday, April 18th, 7-8pm: Spectrum: Capital Jazz Faculty Group at Bexley Library Auditorium
Jazz Ed on the Web:
JazzStandards.com provides a resource of the most recorded jazz standards, information on quintessential recordings, origin and background information and biographies of composers. It is very useful for jazz musicians wanting to know “What tune should I learn next?” as the site ranks the top 1000 jazz standards played most frequently.
In Memoriam – David Baker
The international jazz community is shocked to learn of the passing of David Baker, professor of Jazz Studies at Indiana University. A trombonist, cellist, and internationally renowned educator and author, Baker was 84 years old. It cannot be overstated how important David Baker is to the history and development of jazz education, and his books on jazz theory and improvisation will continue to be an influence on jazz students for generations to come. My experience with David, like many others, was at the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Camp, where he opened my eyes to new harmonic and melodic possibilities that I still use 10 years after the classes I had with him. I would like to send my condolences to the Baker family, Indiana University music community, and all of the students and listeners that he influenced over the years.
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Jazz Appreciation Month 2016 will be full of entertaining jazz performances around central Ohio. The jazz studies programs at Capital, Denison, Ohio State, and Ohio University among others represent an important part of our jazz community here in Columbus. It is exciting to hear of the world class guest artists and programs that they have put together for their festivals. I’m sure it will be a wonderful, enlightening month for students, faculty, and university communities. Until next time, stay swinging Columbus!
