Xavier University Hosts Three-Day Campus Jazz Festival
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April 20-22.
The festival will be a three-day event offering clinics/workshops and
an evening concert series focusing on the multiple genres of the jazz
art form. The clinics and workshops will feature well-established jazz
artists presenting various topics of their choice and expertise. The
evening concerts will have specific themes featuring guest artists in
performance, with the final evening concert hosting a jazz master with
the Xavier University Jazz Ensemble.
Sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and the Office of Black
Ministry for the Archdiocese of New York, the festival is designed to
expose XU students and the New Orleans community to a wide range of
jazz forms and world-class jazz artists.
All events are free and open to the Public. The schedule follows. All
events will be held in the XU Music Recital Hall.
Day One
Tuesday, April 20 – 7:00 p.m. Traditional Jazz Day
Dr. Michael White & the Original Liberty Jazz Band
An evening concert featuring internationally acclaimed Traditional
Jazz musician Dr. Michael White and his Original Liberty Brass Band.
White, a 1976 Xavier graduate and a professor of Spanish at the
University, is a New Orleans born Traditional Jazz musician and
historian who has received international recognition as a lecturer,
historian and musician presenting the music and history of original
New Orleans Traditional Jazz. The Original Liberty Brass Band has
received numerous performance awards and has traveled the globe
presenting New Orleans Traditional Jazz in most of the world’s leading
jazz festivals.
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Day Two
Wednesday, April 21 - 7:00 p.m. Jazz Piano Day
Ellis Marsalis
Another evening concert featuring New Orleans jazz legend pianist/
educator, Ellis Marsalis. From his first professional performance with
“The Groovy Boys” over fifty years ago, Marsalis has been a major
influence in the world of jazz. One of the most respected pianists in
jazz history, he has recorded almost twenty albums of his own in
addition to being featured on many recording with other jazz greats.
As an educator in the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the
University of New Orleans, and Xavier, Marsalis has influenced the
careers of countless musicians, including Terence Blanchard, Harry
Connick Jr. and Nicholas Payton as well as his four musician sons,
Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason.
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Day Three – Afternoon
Thursday, April 22 - 12:00 noon Clinic/Workshop Day
Traditional Jazz Techniques
Dr. Michael White
1:00 p.m.
Jazz Piano Improvisation/Comping
Ellis Marsalis
2:00 p.m.
Advanced Jazz Improvisation
Donald Harrison
A series of one-hour lecture presentations featuring renowned jazz
artists/clinicians structured for junior and senior high school
musicians.
Evening Concert
Thursday, April 22 - 7:00 p.m
Xavier University Jazz Ensemble with guest jazz saxophonist Donald
Harrison
The festival concludes with a final concert featuring the Xavier
University Jazz Ensemble with Donald Harrison as featured soloist. A
talented post-bop altoist with a personal, angular style, he first
came came to fame with Art Blakey’s Messengers and is widely
considered to be one of the finest jazz voices in modern jazz.
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