Purdue News

Purdue Jazz Band savors opportunity to perform in Switzerland WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Jorge Alvarez, of Carmel, Ind., plans on being a doctor, while Bill Eidson, Glenview, Ill., aims at a career as a transportation engineer. Sax man Al Reuther, of Kettering, Ohio, has his sites set on management positions in the computer industry. When they enrolled at Purdue University, none of these three students ever thought they'd be playing on the stage at the Montreux International Jazz Festival, which attracts the biggest professional names in jazz each summer. But on July 6, the Purdue Jazz Band, directed by M.T. "Mo" Trout, heads to Switzerland to perform at both the Montreux festival as well as the Alpine Jazz Festival in Saas-Fee. The 11-day European Tour also includes performances in jazz clubs in Mannheim, Germany, and in Amsterdam. On the Fourth of July, Greater Lafayette audiences will have a chance to hear the music the Purdue Jazz Band will play overseas. Purdue Bands will present a free "Bon Voyage" performance at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Slayter Center for Performing Arts as part of the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra's annual "Stars and Stripes" concert. "I'm totally humbled by the chance to perform at Montreux," said Alvarez, a senior pre-medicine major. This marks the third time the band has been invited to perform at Montreux, but the first since 1986. Trout said, "We're proud to have a band accepted at Montreux, especially since we don't have a school of music here at Purdue. Most of the other bands invited come from schools of music, and this is just a tribute to the quality of musicians we have in our program." To help people understand the accomplishment, Alvarez, who plays trombone, uses this sports analogy: "It's as if there were such a thing as a world Super Bowl, and you were a college football player at a small school, and you were picked to go. It's enormous." The student musicians in the Purdue Jazz Band could have chosen careers as professional musicians, but decided to keep jazz as their passion while pursuing other degrees. "This is an opportunity to do something that my academic training gives me no right to do," said Reuther, who is looking forward to the chance to rub shoulders and talk jazz with some of the world's great musicians. The baritone sax player graduated with a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering in May. He said that on stage at Montreux, "I think the first few minutes I'll be really nervous. Then, like any gig, I'll get focused enough to do a good job. Then, I know I'll take a step back, mentally, and say this is awesome, awesome, awesome." After 11 years and three degrees at Purdue, "I can't think of a better farewell tour," Reuther added. For many of the band's 18 members, like Bill Eidson, a master's student in civil engineering, this is a first trip to Europe. "I just want to immerse myself in the culture. I just want to experience it," said Eidson, who has played trombone for three years in the Purdue Jazz Band. Having traveled to Disneyland with his high school band, and to Venezuela with the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band, Eidson knows these kind of memories are special. "Being in that kind of performance setting is totally different from being in the audience. It's something you've never felt before. If I went back to Montreux to watch in future years, it would never be the same," he said. "For most of us this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I know I'm not going to play in an ensemble this good after I leave Purdue. The odds of me getting in a band in my free time that would have these kind of opportunities are very long," Eidson added. For their European tour, Trout plans to pull together a play list that shows off the band's talents and includes some of the tunes they like to play best. Chicago saxophonist Mark Colby will travel with the band as its guest artist. The itinerary for the trip is as follows: Alpine Jazz Festival, Saas-Fee Switzerland, July 7 to 9; Montreux International Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland, July 10 to 12; Fuerwache Jazz Club, Mannheim, Germany, July 13; and the Casablance Jazz Club, Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 14 and 15. CONTACT: Kathy Matter, Purdue Bands public relations director, (765) 496-6785. To the Purdue News and Photos Page