Saxophonist Chris Vadala Performs with VSU's New Jazz Ensemble April 9

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University’s New Jazz Ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9, in Whitehead Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public.

“This concert is the New Jazz Ensemble’s final concert of the school year,” said Dr. Joren Cain, associate professor of music and ensemble director, “and it represents months of hard work. The students have done a really great job of preparing the music, and I think that the concert will be a lot of fun for everyone.”

The New Jazz Ensemble will perform music by Dave Hanson, Dizzy Gillespie and Frank Paparelli, Oliver Nelson, Billy Strayhorn, James Williams, Quincy Jones, and Jeff Tyzik. The concert will feature a guest artist, Chris Vadala, one of the country’s foremost woodwind artists, on saxophone.

Vadala has appeared on more than 100 recordings to date, as well as countless film and television scores and jingle sessions, performing on all of the saxophones, flutes, and clarinets, according to an online biography. He is an in-demand educator and jazz and classical performer with performing credits on five gold and two platinum albums and two Grammy Award wins, one Emmy, an American Guild of Variety Artists’ Georgie Award, and one Golden Globe. He has performed and/or recorded with such greats as Chuck Mangione, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Doc Severinsen, and others.    

“I am excited to have Chris Vadala on campus as a guest because he is an incredible saxophonist and educator,” Cain said. “I guarantee that the audience will enjoy hearing him perform. The students will also have opportunities to talk with him while he is here and learn about his experience as a recording and touring musician.”

Whitehead Auditorium is located on the first floor of VSU’s Fine Arts Building, on the corner of Oak Street and Brookwood Drive. The concert is part of the Department of Music’s celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month.

Designed by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History and supported by the United States Congress, Jazz Appreciation Month, recognized each April, “is intended to draw public attention to the glories of jazz as both a historical and living treasure.” This year’s theme is “The Spirit and Rhythms of Jazz.”

Contact Dr. Joren Cain at (229) 333-5806 or jocain@valdosta.edu to learn more.

On the Web:

www.smithsonianjazz.org

www.jorencain.com

www.valdosta.edu/music

www.chrisvadala.com

New Jazz Ensemble Members

• Saxophones: Rodney Singleton (lead alto), Lea Bisanz (alto), Zane Bennett (alto), Gabe Burns (tenor), Akil Johnson (tenor), Mario Thompson (baritone)

• Trombones: Justin Long, Chandler Hill, Devin Driskell, Anthony Troupe (bass)

• Trumpets: Jordan Beasley, Alex Washington, Chris Ward, Evan Rentz, Eduardo Farias

• Rhythm: Michael Foster (guitar), Courtney Allen (piano), Joshua Rivers (piano), John Tyler (bass), Tyrone Tarplin (drums)