Southeast Missouri State University's Jazz Series will present its Gala Festival Concert on Friday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall at Southeasts River Campus.
The concert will feature professional jazz trombonist Andre Hayward. Also featured will be Southeast’s Studio Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz Lab Band. Audiences will be treated to big band jazz music, which traditionally includes saxophones, trumpets and a rhythm section.
Hayward is an extremely gifted trombonist with a sound and clarity reminiscent of the late J.J. Johnson. His gospel-tinged approach is refreshing and warms the hearts of audiences wherever he performs.
He performed and recorded with singer and bandleader Betty Carter for five years in her acclaimed Jazz Ahead program. Other acclaimed performers Hayward has worked with include Joe Williams, Slide Hampton, John Lewis, the Mingus Dynasty Big Band, Gerald Wilson, Kirk Whalum, Jimmy Heath, The Duke Ellington Orchestra and Illinois Jacquet’s Big Band. His more recent performance credits include the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the San Francisco Jazz Collective and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
The Jazz Lab Band, led by Dr. Joseph Jefferson, Southeast professor of music and director of jazz studies, is comprised of both music and non-music majors and will perform a variety of jazz compositions. Among the selections on the program will be “The Preacher,” “Now’s the Time” and “Caravan.” Hayward will join the ensemble to perform “Mister Magic.”
The concert will conclude with the Studio Jazz Ensemble, also under the direction of Jefferson. The ensemble will perform “Blue Bossa,” “Lament,” “Black Hole Sun” and “Michelangelo.” Hayward will join the group for “Dre’s Blues,” “Everlasting,” “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and “Carl.”
Student soloists include Caleb Norman (piano), Doug Evans (tenor saxophone), Max Janssen (alto saxophone), Jon Allgeyer (trumpet), Reed Waker (alto saxophone) and Landon Schnurbush (piano). Kyle Schewcraft, Levi Smith and Joel Fasnut (trombones) will be featured as a section on “Lament” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”
Tickets may be purchased by contacting the River Campus Box Office, located in the Cultural Arts Center, 518 S. Fountain St. The box office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are also available by calling (573) 651-2265 or online.