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December 20, 2012

Purdue Jazz Festival kicks off with Delfeayo Marsalis Octet

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Delfeayo Marsalis Octet will open the Purdue Jazz Festival at 8 p.m. Jan. 18 in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. The performance is presented by Purdue Convocations.

The performance also includes a pre-show discussion free for ticket-holders. Don Seybold, host of WBAA program "Inside Jazz" will give insight into the history of, and new approach to, Ellington's work in Stewart Center, Room 322

More than 50 years after Duke Ellington conceived and composed "Such Sweet Thunder" as a long-form exploration of the larger-than-life characters devised by William Shakespeare, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis has revisited Ellington's classic suite and recast it for a stellar octet. Nonetheless, Marsalis' "Sweet Thunder" still features everything from sonnets and star-crossed lovers to madness and moors. And just as in the Bard's famous soliloquies, soloists take on every part, often playing in the lilt of iambic pentameter. Marsalis is from the legendary musical family, but as one of the most accomplished trombonists of his generation he has blazed his own path, having toured with Art Blakey, Abdullah Ibrahim, Slide Hampton, Max Roach, and Elvin Jones. Now, he'll kick off the Purdue Jazz Festival with a midwinter night's dream of an octet.

His performance serves as Purdue Convocations' annual contribution to the jazz festival, a Purdue University Bands event that brings more than 2,500 middle and high school students to campus for clinics and concerts with noted jazz artists and clinicians. See details at http://www.purdue.edu/bands

Tickets are $30 for adults and $22 for those 18 years and younger, Purdue students and Ivy Tech Lafayette students. Tickets are available at the Elliott Hall and Stewart Center box offices at 765-494-3933 or 800-914-SHOW. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster outlets. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more can be ordered at 765-496-1977.

Initiated in 1902, Purdue Convocations was one of the first professional performing arts presenters in the United States. Each year, Convocations offers the region 20-30 performances of widely varying genres. Purdue Convocations aims to promote frequent exposure to and familiarity with human cultural expression in a multitude of forms and media.

Contact: Abby Eddy, Purdue Convocations director of marketing, 765-494-9712, aeeddy@purdue.edu