By Amanda Nettles
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office
CONWAY — The University of Central Arkansas Jazz Ensembles will present their first concert of the fall Sunday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m.
The performance in the Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall is free and open to the public.
The concert will begin with the UCA Dixieland Band’s tribute to New Orleans clarinetist Pete Fountain, who died recently. The band members will parade into the recital hall to “West Lawn Dirge” to simulate a New Orleans funeral procession and will follow with “Just A Closer Walk With Thee.” Clarinetist Jake Gatlin will be featured on “Deep River.”
“All these are traditional melodies,” said Dr. Jackie Lamar, director of the Dixieland Band. “Then we will close our portion of the concert with ‘At a Georgia Camp Meeting’ by Kerry Mills.”
The program for Jazz Ensemble II, directed by Dr. Gail Robertson, assistant professor of tuba and euphonium, will include “Cold Duck Time” by Eddie Harris, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” by Jerome Kern, “Downtown Tango” by Rick Hirsch, “Emily” by Johnny Mandel (featuring guest artist Andrea Rollison on trombone) and “Barbecue Ribs” by Mark Carubia.
Jazz Ensemble I, directed by Larry Jones, assistant professor of trumpet and jazz, will perform “Step Right Up” by Oliver Nelson, “A Little Minor Booze” by Willie Maiden, “Life In The Bubble” by Gordon Goodwin and “Tenderly” by Walter Gross and Jack Lawrence.
Guest artists Andrea Rollison (trombone) and Ken Titmus (trumpet) will appear as part of the UCA Department of Music Baum Concert Series. They will be on campus for a residency Oct. 21-23 and present master classes as well as perform with all three jazz groups.
For more information contact Jackie Lamar, (501)-450-5759 or jackiel@uca.edu.
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Film, Theatre and Creative Writing as well as the School of Communication. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call (501) 450-3293.
