Jazz Room Series at William Paterson University Celebrates 25th Anniversary Season with Tribute to William Paterson Jazz Program Directors on November 3
-- William Paterson University Big Band to perform music of Thad Jones, Rufus Reid and James Williams

The William Paterson University Jazz Room Series continues the celebration of its 25th anniversary season with a special program on Sunday, November 3 as the William Paterson University Big Band performs music written by the three directors of the University’s internationally acclaimed Jazz Studies Program.

The concert, at 4 p.m. in Shea Center on campus, will include works by the late trumpet player Thad Jones, who directed the program from 1972 to 1979. Also, bassist Rufus Reid, who directed the program from 1980 to 1999, and pianist James Williams, the current director, will perform their original compositions. Admission prices are $12 standard, $9 for senior citizens, members of the William Paterson community and students. Tickets include admission to "Sittin’ In," an informal discussion with the afternoon’s performers, at 3 p.m. in Shea 101.

Thad Jones (1923 –1986) was one of the most creative and prolific figures in jazz. His unique big band arrangements, with their special voicings and unexpected rhythmic turns, became the model for a whole new generation of arrangers. While he was best known as a composer-arranger and co-leader of the famous Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, now the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, he was also one of the most respected soloists in jazz, favoring the cornet and flugelhorn over the trumpet.

Jones was the first full-time jazz faculty member at William Paterson. His teaching expertise, name and reputation attracted the first serious jazz students to the institution, which led to the establishment of its now internationally recognized Jazz Studies Program. William Paterson awarded Thad Jones an honorary doctorate in humane letters in 1978.

Rufus Reid is one of today’s premier jazz bassists. He has toured and recorded with many top jazz artists, including Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition, Dizzy Gillespie, Phil Woods, J. J. Johnson, and Kenny Burrell. To date, Reid has made more than 250 recordings, including three records as a leader for Sunnyside Records and six with TanaReid, the quintet he co-leads with drummer Akira Tana. In 1997, Reid and bassist Michael Moore recorded the critically acclaimed "Double Bass Delights" and their live performance together in "Bass Day '97 New York" has been released on video.

Reid retired from William Paterson in 1999 to pursue a full-time performance career after 20 years as a music professor and director of the Jazz Studies Program. He was awarded the 1998 Jazz Educator Achievement Award by Downbeat Magazine, and in January 1997 the International Association of Jazz Educators presented Reid with the Humanitarian Award. Reid is the author of "The Evolving Bassist," an industry standard on the bass method, and has conducted numerous jazz clinics and workshops worldwide.
James Williams is one of the most sought after pianists on the New York jazz scene. He first gained recognition as a pianist and music director with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He has played, toured and recorded with such prominent artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, George Duvivier, Art Farmer, Kenny Burrell and many others.

Williams is featured on dozens of recordings and since producing his own album "Alter Ego" in 1984, he has gone on to produce albums for many other musicians, including Phineas Newborn, Jr. and Harold Mabern. As a performer and composer, Williams has been praised in the reviews of countless publications worldwide. He has published a folio of his original piano compositions and several of his tunes appear on other artists' albums, including those of Art Farmer, Kenny Barron and Victor Lewis.

Launched in 1978, the Jazz Room Series is one of the largest and most prestigious college-sponsored jazz events in the country. Performers include renowned professionals who encompass the complete spectrum of jazz, from practitioners of traditional jazz to avant-garde to bebop to swing to Afro-Latin jazz – as well as William Paterson’s own student ensembles. The series has won numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for its innovative programming.
For information, call the Shea Center for Performing Arts Box Office at 973-720-2371.

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10/24/02
For Further Information, contact:

Mary Beth Zeman, Director, Public Relations 973-720-2966