School of Music to present Jazz Fest 2008

The School of Music will sponsor the Billy Taylor Jazz Festival, a three-day collaboration of performances, clinics and workshops this Thursday, April 24, Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26. The theme of the festival is "The Music of Dr. Billy Taylor," who will be attending the event.

"The festival started out as just the ECU Jazz Ensemble [but] has grown into this three-day event. The festival was renamed, with his permission, in honor of [Billy Taylor] in 2003," said Carroll Dashiell, director of jazz studies and professor of bass in ECU's School of Music.

The name was changed to the Billy Taylor Jazz Festival after the Greenville native with an impressive resume. Taylor is a music composer, arranger, historian, educator and jazz pianist. He was also the first African-American musical director on an American national television show with his appearance on "The David Frost Show."

He is the artistic director of jazz at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the music and arts director for the CBS Sunday morning TV show, among other things. He will be making a special appearance at the jazz festival.

The event will include a concert on Thursday night by Jazz Bones, directed by ECU's own faculty member George Broussard at the Greenville Hilton Hotel. The next day, clinics will be held in the A.J. Fletcher Music Building at 9:15, 10, and 11:30 a.m. Friday night at 8 p.m. will signal the Billy Taylor Jazz Festival start at the Greenville Convention Center. On Saturday morning, there will be performances by area high schools followed by an 8 p.m. concert at the convention center. Special guest Geri Allen, pianist, composer and arranger will be performing at the event along with members of the ECU jazz faculty and students in the award-winning ECU Jazz Ensemble A, a select group of students in the School of Music Jazz studies program that tour under Dashiell's directorship.

Dashiell hopes that as many ECU students as possible can attend the festival.

"I encourage everyone to come and enjoy the fellowship while listening to some great music," he said. "Support your fellow students as your attendance is encouragement to them for their hard work plus you can get to see and hear them now for minimal cost. Very soon you will have to pay top dollar to hear these wonderful musicians. Our students are that good!"

Tickets for the event can be purchased by visiting the Central Ticket Office in Mendenhall or by calling 1-800-ECU-ARTS. Tickets are $10 for students with ID.

For more information about the festival, visit ecu.edu/music.

This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.