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"Jump, Jive, and Wail" Set for Nov. 20
(Posted: October 26, 2009) (Printable Version)
Season of Entertainment 29 at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith has scheduled Nov. 20 with what is described by Ryan Gardner of Fort Smith, director of the UA Fort Smith Jazz Band, as “a non-stop evening of music, fun and excitement.”
“With this being my Jazz Band directing debut, I’m extremely excited about the show,” said Dr. Gardner, who will be joined by Don Bailey of Fort Smith, director of jazz studies, as he directs the UA Fort Smith Jazz Catz, the university’s vocal jazz group.
The concert is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Arkansas Best Corp. Performing Arts Center at the Fort Smith Convention Center, 55 S. 7th. Admission is by Season 29 ticket, or individual tickets are $8. Tickets are available at www.uafortsmith.edu or by calling the Box Office, 479-788-7300.
“Jump, Jive, and Wail” is the theme for the concert, which will feature the Jazz Band performing hits by John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter.
“The Jazz Band will play a wide variety of tunes,” Dr. Gardner said, “including ‘Ain’t Misbehavin,’ ‘Summertime,’ ‘Birdland,’ ‘Superstition,’ ‘La Fiesta,’ ‘April in Paris’ and more.”
Bailey said the theme for the show “pretty much sums up the energy and excitement that the two groups will bring to the stage.”
“It will be a night of hot big band jazz and cool vocal jazz,” he said.
Jazz Catz will sing “Come Fly With Me,” “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “Rock-a-bye Your Baby,” “When I Fall in Love” and the signature song, “Jump, Jive, and Wail,” along with several others.
Concert participants include:
Alma: Tiffany Waldrop, saxophone; Mark Neely, trombone; and Neysa Walker, Jazz Catz.
Booneville: Casey Gray, trumpet; and Kyle McNutt and Scott Quick, Jazz Catz.
Bryant: Iva Lowe, Jazz Catz.
Cedarville: Dustin Simmonds, trombone; and Brooke Trentham, Jazz Catz.
Del City, Okla.: Jeff Patterson, Jazz Catz.
Fort Smith: Kellie Mirda and D.J. McRoberts, saxophone; Shane Winford, trumpet; Aaron Schmitt, trombone; Steven Fox, guitar; Terri Bailey, Jazz Catz rhythm section, piano; and Shane Bailey, Jazz Catz rhythm section, drums.
Greenwood: Ryan LaFleur and Samuel Ortega, trumpet; and Dalton Jones, Jazz Catz.
Hackett: Dale Horine, Jazz Catz.
Lavaca: Jessica Dooly, clarinet; Logan Dooly, bass for Jazz Band and for Jazz Catz rhythm section; and Clayton Masterson, percussion.
Oklahoma City: Taylor Keenen, Jazz Catz.
Ozark: Scott Gann, saxophone; and Eric Mathews, guitar for Jazz Band and for Jazz Catz rhythm section.
Rome, Ga.: Josh Jeffries, trombone.
Sallisaw: Andrew Dodd, percussion.
San Antonio, Texas: Brian Bailey, percussion for Jazz Band and for Jazz Catz rhythm section.
Tulsa: Tiffani Campbell, Jazz Catz; and Kacie Yocum, Jazz Catz sound engineer.
Van Buren: Lucy Alcala, saxophone; Greg Graham, trumpet; Travis Hempel, trombone; and Jennifer Mann, Jazz Catz.
Wister: Kara Young, Jazz Catz.
Gardner, who came to UA Fort Smith in August 2008, is originally from Santa Monica, Calif. He received a bachelor’s degree with highest distinction from the Eastman School of Music. His master’s degree is from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and his doctorate in trumpet performance is from the Manhattan School of Music.
While in New York he held faculty positions at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege, Third Street Music Settlement, Music Conservatory of Westchester, Greenwich House Music School and Meyer London School, as well as the Manhattan School of Music Summer Camp.
He has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Honolulu Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Fort Smith Symphony, the New World Symphony, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra USA, the Music Academy of the West Orchestra, the Aldeburgh Festival Britten-Pears Orchestra and the Verbier Youth Festival Orchestra. He has also performed in prestigious venues across the United States and abroad.
Bailey, associate professor of music and director of jazz studies, joined the teaching staff at UA Fort Smith in 1985. Under his direction, the Jazz Band and Jazz Catz have performed to sell-out crowds. He is an active adjudicator throughout Arkansas and Oklahoma and developed the first comprehensive summer jazz band camp in the state as well as a jazz improv camp for orchestral strings, one of only a handful in the country.
He served two terms as president of the Arkansas Unit of the International Association for Jazz Education and has represented the state at regional and national jazz events. He has performed gigs with the Temptations, the Four Tops, both the Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey Orchestras, Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Allen, Lucie Arnaz, the New York Voices, Tommy Newsom, Marvin Hamlisch, Phil Driscoll and others. He also opened for Clay Cross and Randy Travis.
Bailey is president and co-founder of New Song Music Co. and is on the teaching staff of the International Worship Institute in Dallas. As a composer, his works have been performed throughout the nation. His “Jazz Suite: A Retrospective,” a 55-minute musical journey through the history of jazz that was commissioned by the Fort Smith Symphony, premiered in May 2008. He received a bachelor’s degree from Iowa Wesleyan College and a master’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa.
| Article by: Sondra LaMar, Director of Public Relations | |
| Photo(s) by: Kat Wilson, Photographer, Marketing and Communications |
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