January 9, 2009

Purdue Jazz Festival to heat up month of January

Sponsored by Purdue Bands & Orchestra and Purdue Convocations, the festival also will include a swing dance, a Sunday jazz service and the Community Jazz Showcase. The showcase, featuring the Ryan Cohan Quartet, the event's artists-in-residence, also received support from the Indiana Arts Commission.

The showcase, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 8 p.m. Jan. 15 in the Long Center for the Performing Arts, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette. It will give area residents an opportunity to see a variety of Tippecanoe County jazz groups on stage with the Ryan Cohan Quartet, including the Jefferson, Harrison and McCutcheon high school jazz bands.

The public will have two other chances to hear the Ryan Cohan Quartet, which also was featured at the 2003 festival. The group will perform in two free concerts, one at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 14) at Boiler Market, 320 Main St., West Lafayette, and the other at noon Jan. 17 in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse.

The Mingus Big Band will headline the festival, with a concert at 8 p.m. Jan. 16 in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse, which is sponsored by Purdue Convocations. A limited number of tickets are available and are $30 for adults and $22 for children 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.

Later that night, the Purdue Jazz Combo will perform "Jazz, Espresso & Food Inspired by Jazz Legends," a free concert at 9:30 p.m. at Vienna Espresso Bar & Bakery, 208 South St., West Lafayette.

From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 17, instrumental jazz competitions and clinics for middle and high school bands from five states will take place in the Purdue Memorial Union, Stewart Center, Rawls Hall and Elliott Hall of Music, and in University Church, 320 North St., West Lafayette. All are free and open to the public, and a complete schedule is available at https://www.purdue.edu/bands/jazzfest/schedule.html

At 3 p.m. Jan. 17, the Naptown Jazz 5 will perform "The Jazz State of Indiana" in the Anniversary Drawing Room in Purdue Memorial Union. This performance also is free and open to the public.

The Festival Finale Concert, featuring baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan, trumpeter Allen Vizzutti and the Purdue Jazz Band, at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse is sold out.

At 11 a.m. Jan. 18, a jazz church service featuring the Danny Weiss Quartet will take place at University Church, 320 North St., West Lafayette.

The final event of the festival will be the 10th annual Midwinter Jazz & Swing Dance at 3 p.m. Jan. 18 at Jefferson High School. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults and are available at the door or by phone at (765) 772-4700, ext. 2892.

For information on Purdue Jazz Festival events, contact Kathy Matter, director of public relations for the festival, at (765) 496-6785.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Source: Kathy Matter, Purdue Bands public relations director, (765) 496-6785, kcmatter@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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