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March 10, 2005
Saxophonist Joe Lovano Joins the William Paterson
University Jazz Ensemble for Jazz Room Series on April 17 at 4 p.m.
Joe Lovano, a Grammy Award-winning saxophonist, will perform with
the William Paterson Jazz Ensemble at William Paterson University
in Wayne on Sunday, April 17 as part of the winter 2005 Jazz Room
Series.
The concert will begin at 4 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing
Arts on the campus in Wayne. Tickets are available in advance or
on the day of the performance at $12 standard and $9 for senior
citizens, non-William Paterson students and William Paterson faculty,
staff and alumni. William Paterson students may attend free of charge.
This big band collaboration will include music by Thad Jones and
James Williams, both former directors of the University Jazz Studies
Program, and Bob Brookmeyer, as well as several of Lovano’s
original compositions. Prior to the concert, Lovano will be the
guest for “Sittin In,” an informal discussion about
jazz, at 3 p.m. in room 101 of Shea Center. Admission is free to
all Jazz Room ticketholders.
Lovano, a former William Paterson jazz faculty member, was exposed
to jazz and the saxophone at an early age by his father, who performed
as a big-toned tenor player at night. When he was 16, Lovano was
a member of the Musician’s Union, Local 4, and started playing
in clubs and Motown cover bands. He eventually saved enough money
to put himself through the prestigious Berklee College of Music
in Boston.
Now a four-time Grammy nominee, Lovano was named Jazz Artist of
the Year in 1995 and 1996 by Down Beat magazine, is known for his
ability to find new forms of artistic expression, and has toured
and recorded with musicians such as Mel Lewis, Woody Herman and
Thad Jones. He has also released solo projects including his recent
ballad CD I’m All For You.
The William Paterson University Jazz Ensemble is one of 25 ensembles,
most varying in size from trios to sextets, which form the core
of the University’s Jazz Studies Program. The musical foundations
of the Ensemble match those of the Jazz Studies Program, providing
a true jazz environment in which students learn firsthand about
the jazz world and the requirements for becoming a successful professional
musician. Jazz Ensemble members 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 seven foreign
countries. The Ensemble is directed by David Demsey, professor of
music and coordinator of jazz studies.
Now in its 27th year of exciting performances, The Jazz Room 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 more information, call Shea Center for Performing Arts Box Office
at 973-720-2371.
http://ww2.wpunj.edu/publicityphotos/Jazz/JazzRoomSpring05/
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