By Lanita Withers Goins, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-3890
Posted 4-14-09
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The music of saxophonist Seamus Blake will be spotlighted at the 4th annual Miles Davis Jazz Festival at UNCG on Friday, April 17.
In addition to performances by Blake, students from the UNCG Jazz Ensemble will premiere their orchestrations of his compositions during the 7:30 p.m. concert in Aycock Auditorium.
Tickets are $10 public, $6 seniors, $4 students and $3 UNCG students and are available from the University Box Office at (336) 334-4849 or boxoffice.uncg.edu.
A New York-based tenor saxophonist and composer, Blake is seen as a creative force among young jazz players. He won first place in the 2002 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in Washington D.C., earning the opportunity to play with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.
Blake is a longtime member of the Mingus Big Band, a Grammy-nominated group. During his career, Blake has also performed or recorded with the Victor Lewis Quintet, Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman, Franco Ambrosetti and many others. His latest recording, “Live in Italy,” was a double CD released in December.
The award-winning UNCG Jazz Ensemble is the flagship of the Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program. It was founded in 1967 and has been featured in concerts throughout the United States, on radio and television.
The ensemble is comprised of jazz studies majors and other students whom are making jazz a part of their musical training. Musicians who have performed with the UNCG Jazz Ensemble include Clark Terry, Joel Frahm, Bryon Stripling, Ellis Marsalis, Dick Oatts, Ed Neumeister and Terri Lyne Carrington. The Jazz Ensemble has played at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage and the Lincoln Center in New York City.
The jazz ensemble produces a compact disc of previously published and original music annually. The last three recordings earned the Herb Wong Blue Chip Award from the Jazz Education Journal for being among the top 10 “best jazz college recordings.”
For more information, contact the School of Music at (336) 334-5789 or visit www.uncg.edu/mus.
