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CONCERT IS KICKOFF EVENT FOR JAZZ ORCHESTRA'S RESIDENCY AT WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, a band created over 30 years ago by jazz greats Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, is planning to mark the inauguration of its permanent residency at William Paterson University with a concert on Sunday, October 10 as part of the fall 1999 Jazz Room Series. The band features such top artists as pianist and composer Jim McNeely, drummer John Riley, baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan, lead trumpeter Earl Gardiner, trombonist John Mosca, and alto saxophonist Dick Oatts. The performance 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 $9 standard and $6 for senior citizens, non-William Paterson students and William Paterson faculty, staff and alumni. William Paterson students may attend free of charge. The New York Times has called the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra "one of New York's institutions," and The Village Voice said "there probably isn't a big band in the country that can rival the bullish precision of this oneit takes risks, commissions new pieces, and has exceptional soloists in every section." Formerly known as the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, the band was formed in 1966 by composer/trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis. Jones was also one of the founders of the William Paterson Jazz Studies Program. For 33 years the band has been in residence at the historic Village Vanguard nightclub in New York City, the world famous jazz cellar that gave it its name. The group continues to delight crowds at the New York club with its Monday night schedule of appearance. All of the members of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra are accomplished musicians, and many are writers and arrangers as well. Their credits include dozens of major motion pictures, hundreds of television themes, numerous Broadway shows, and a dazzling array of performances with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, and B. B. King, to name a few. Their touring performances have brought big band jazz to every corner of the world. "This partnership, forming a cooperative effort between a large-scale working jazz orchestra and a university academic program, would be the first of its kind," says David Demsey, coordinator of the project. The proposed partnership would include ongoing performances involving jazz program students, special projects, and the creation of a Thad Jones/Vanguard Orchestra archive at William Paterson to house the original manuscripts and arrangements of Thad Jones. Prior to the concert, members of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra will be the guests for "Sittin' In," an informal, hosted discussion followed by a question-and-answer session. The talk begins at 3 p.m. in room 101 of Shea Center. Admission is free to all Jazz Room ticketholders. Launched in the spring of 1978, William Paterson's Jazz Room Series has earned a reputation for presenting concerts by eminent musicians in the jazz world. The series has been awarded numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and just received its third consecutive Citation of Excellence from the Council for its cultural contribution to the state. For additional information, please call William
Paterson's Shea Center Box Office at 973-720-2371.
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