WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY JAZZ QUINTET TO PERFORM AT JVC JAZZ FESTIVAL IN MANHATTAN ON JUNE 19 FROM NOON TO 2 P.M.

The William Paterson University Jazz Quintet, directed by jazz pianist James Williams, will perform during a JVC Jazz Festival concert on Wednesday, June 19 from noon to 2 p.m. in Bryant Park in New York City. Admission is free.

The quintet is one of 24 student jazz ensembles, varying in size from trios to sextets, which form the core of William Paterson's internationally known Jazz Studies Program, which is directed by Williams. Performers are Richard Polatchek, trumpet, of Oakland; Jameel Roberts, tenor saxophone, of Norwalk Conn,; Steve Myerson, piano, of Philadelphia; Karl Kaminski, bass, of Bloomfield; and Vincent Sperrazza, drums, of Sequoit, N.Y. Their performance is presented by Down Beat magazine.

"The JVC Jazz Festival is one of the world's premier jazz performance venues," says David Demsey, a professor of music and coordinator of jazz studies at William Paterson. "It is truly an honor for our students to be invited to perform as part of a world-class lineup of jazz performers."

William Paterson University is a flagship of jazz education. For more than 25 years its Jazz Studies Program has offered a true jazz environment in which students study firsthand with an artist/teacher faculty composed of world-class, New York-area professionals. Founded by the legendary trumpeter/arranger Thad Jones and led by Rufus Reid for two decades, the program has been directed by Williams for three years. The program's students have been featured in recent years with such guest soloists as Benny Golson, Stanley Turrentine, Jim McNeely, George Coleman,Randy Weston, Muhal Richard Abrams, Michael and Randy Brecker, and Joe Williams, and they are annual award winners in the Down Beat Student Music Awards. They also regularly interact with the Vanguard Orchestra as part of a new permanent residency partnership that includes the creation of the Thad Jones Archive at William Paterson, housing the original scores and music of the program's founder. Jazz Studies majors come to William Paterson from all parts of the United States and all corners of the world; current program enrollment includes students from 27 states and six foreign countries.In addition, the program has created and fostered the nationally acclaimed Jazz Room Series of concerts each fall and spring and the summer Jazz It Up! Festival. Both programs are designed to make jazz more accessible to the community and draw thousands of jazz fans to the University's campus.

The JVC Jazz Festival runs from June 16 to 29 at 21 venues throughout New York City, including Carnegie Hall, the Village Vanguard, the Beacon Theatre and Bryant Park. Hundreds of the world's greatest jazz artists will perform during the festival's 50 concerts.

For more information, call the William Paterson University Jazz Department at 973-720-2268.

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6/13/02
For Further Information, contact:

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