Summer Jazz Festival begins at Krannert
June 15, 2005
Beginning this Thursday, the University’s School of Music opens its Summer Jazz Festival at the Krannert Center for Performing Arts. The program brings with it a variety of different sounds and experiences from the early and middle of the twentieth century that has since influenced and been adapted by musicians of the present. ÿ
Among the many contributors, Jon Faddis headlines the festival every night on trumpet and various faculty members contribute their talents. ÿ
Remembering the spirit of an earlier age, this opens with “A Tribute to Thelonious Monk: Thelonious Monk at Town Hall.” ÿAn acoustic jazz ensemble of ten musicians pays tribute to Thelonious Monk, who first played in New York City’s Town Hall in 1949.
Friday promises a similar level of excitement with the presentation of “Faddis and Faculty.” ÿAlong with Faddis on trumpet, this night brings some local flavor as Jazz program director and saxophonist Chip Mcneill, drummer Dana Hall and trombonist Jim Pugh, all University faculty members, provide the night’s entertainment. This evening will also feature pianists Mark Flugge and Joan Hickey.
On Saturday, the Summer Jazz Festival will go back in time to 1924 when the Paul Whiteman Band premiere Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. ÿ
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
For the festival’s version of the 1924 Paul Whiteman Aeolian Hall Concert, a 24-piece band is supported by Professor Ian Hobson on piano, who has played this particular piece with orchestras, concert bands and in solo recitals.
On its last night, Sunday, June 19, the festival will take on more intimate surroundings as “Thelonious Monk at Town Hall” plays at Robert Allerton Conference Center in Monticello. ÿThe event begins at 5:00 p.m. with cocktails and dinner at 6:00 p.m., followed by the evenings conversation and music.
“The audience can expect to be dazzled by the virtuosity of Jon Faddis and Ian Hobson, moved by the music of Thelonious Monk, and whisked back to the roaring twenties by Paul Whiteman’s unique sound of early jazz/classical crossover,” said Karl Kramer, director of the School of Music.
