Two Jazz Concerts Next Week

The Department of Music announces two jazz concerts next week on Monday, April 16 at noon and Tuesday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. Both concerts are free and open to all and they will be held in the Eagles Nest in the Hawkins-Conard Student Center.

The Monday concert over the noon hour will feature the "AU Lunch-Hour" Jazz Combo directed by Dr. Thomas Reed. The concert's program will be selected from the following pieces: Autumn Leaves by Joseph Kosma, Conversation Piece by Howie Smith, Guataca City by Paquito D'Rivera, Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man, Wayne Shorter's Footprints, Joe Zawinul's Mercy, Mercy, Mercy and Thelonious Monk's Blue Monk.

Personnel for the "AU Lunch-Hour" Jazz Combo includes Branden Barber, trumpet; Frank Stanek, baritone; Dom Febbo, guitar; Moriah Goldsmith, piano; Jackson Schultz, bass; and Tyler Watson, drums.

Tuesday's evening concert will feature the Award-Winning Ashland University Jazz Orchestra (AUJO) under the direction of Dr. Scott Garlock. Pre-show music will be provided by The FrankenDom Combo with Frank Stanek, trombone; Jennifer Wigton, trumpet; Dom Febbo, guitar; and Jackson Schultz, bass. They will perform pieces such as There Will Never Be Another You, Recordame, Scrapple from the Apple, How High the Moon, Have you met Miss Jones? and The Thrill is Gone.

This final concert on-campus for AUJO will feature a mix of tunes from the 1940s through the turn of the century such as swing, bossa nova, concert jazz, progressive jazz, jazz funk and some great energy. Immediately after the concert, the ensemble will leave to perform at the St. Louis Jazz Festival.

Jazz Groups Have Successful Trip and Competitions

On March 24-26, the Ashland University Jazz Orchestra (AUJO) had several   performances in Pennsylvania as part of their annual tour. The tour began in Butler, PA for the state's district V's annual honor band event.  Jazz Orchestra director Dr. Scott Garlock gave a clinic on jazz improvisation and scatting and after a short break, AUJO performed a concert for approximately 250 students and 70 band directors.

The following day, the Wingnuts (AU's top jazz combo) placed third in the combo division at the 50th Villanova Jazz Festival.  Student receiving individual awards were Aaron Hill, drums, and Trent Kimball, saxophone.

Chris Simmons, Senior Trombonist

Trent Kimball, Junior Saxophonist

On the Saturday of the same event, AUJO likewise placed third. This honor was a great accomplishment for the band, as there were seven bands participating, all of which came from much larger schools many sizes with large jazz programs. Our trombone section was also dubbed the “Best trombone section” at the festival, and again, this is a great honor for our students to win--to our knowledge, no section from A.U. has ever been accorded such recognition at a jazz festival.  The trombone section members are Chris Simmons, John Grimm, Morgan Mirtes, Marisa Sanchez, and Jim Slike.  Individual award winners were Chris Simmons, trombone; Aaron Hill, drums; and Jim Slike, bass trombone.