Trombonist Steve Wiest will headline the 2021 Cameron University Jazz Festival, joining the CU Jazz Ensemble and the Lawton Community Jazz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 9, in the University Theatre. The Aggie Jazz Academy, a group of high school students from throughout southwest Oklahoma, will also make a guest appearance.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for senior citizens/military/K-12 students. Admission is free to CU students, faculty and staff with CU ID. As seating is limited, please call 580-581-2478 to reserve a seat. COVID-19 protocols will be in place; face coverings are required and social distancing will be observed.
A multiple Grammy Award nominee, jazz composer and trombonist, Wiest is renowned for his cutting-edge writing as well as his extroverted trombone playing. He performed with Maynard Ferguson for four years and has also been a member of the Doc Severinsen Big Band. He is currently co-chair of jazz studies at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver, where he directs the Lamont Jazz Orchestra, works with jazz trombone students and teaches arranging and composition.
The CU Jazz Ensemble will kick off the concert with “Fats Waller’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’” arranged by Dave Wolpe. Wiest will join the ensemble as they feature three of his compositions, “Art Appreciation,” “Showtime Shuffle,” and “Thaditude.”
The Lawton Community Jazz Ensemble will begin its portion of the concert with “Sweet Georgia Brown” arranged by Sammy Nestico before presenting Wiest compositions “Ozark Aire,” “Miles Slide” “Goodbye Enchilada” and “Cerulean 12.”
The Aggie Jazz Academy, featuring area high school musicians, will present Nestico’s “It’s Oh, So Nice” and “Hay Burner.”
Members of the Cameron University Jazz Ensemble are Douglas Bayless, Irmtraud Bryant, Trent Hagood, Braden Hatch, Peter Macias, William McGee, Jeremiah Phillips, Victoria Chambers, Dr. Lucas Kaspar, all of Lawton; Joel Moncrief, Altus; K. Kay Alsobrook, Marlow; and Lea Haywood, Elgin.
Alsobrook and Dr. Kaspar are also members of the Lawton Community Jazz Ensemble, joining community members Brian Francis, Janette Garton, Derek Griner, Myles Hanford, David Jackson, Dr. JD Little, Daniel Rogers, Ed Hefti, Randy Smith, Wayne White, Joshua Bennett and Will Magee.
High school students from Cache, Duncan High School, Eisenhower High School, Elgin High School, Lawton High School and MacArthur High School, as well as a home-schooled student, comprise the Aggie Jazz Academy.
The 2021 Jazz Festival is made possible by a grant from Cameron University Lectures and Concerts Series.
For more information, contact the Department of Art, Music and Theatre Arts at 580-581-2346.
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PR#21-019
