Elmhurst University’s annual Jazz Festival, one of the oldest and best-known collegiate festivals in the region, will bring together musicians from area high schools and colleges, as well as Germany’s WDR Big Band with music director Bob Mintzer as it returns for its 58th edition over four days, Feb. 20 to 23.
Even for those unfamiliar with the finer points of jazz, the flashing brass, the driving beats of guitar, bass and drums, the soaring voices of the singers and the sheer energy and talent of the young players offer thrilling musical experiences in the beautiful setting of the Hammerschmidt Chapel on the Elmhurst University campus.
The lineup of featured artists also includes the Yellowjackets and guitarist Dave Stryker, who will perform with the WDR Big Band during the four-day festival on the Elmhurst University campus. In addition, the Jazz Festival will welcome guest artists including drummer Danny Gottlieb, trombonist Ryan Keberle and saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, all of whom will perform with the renowned Elmhurst University Jazz Band.
Those top artists are a great draw for jazz aficionados, but the festival also welcomes those new to jazz, according to festival director Chris Parsons. “It’s a great opportunity to see (and hear) some great college musicians from the Midwest,” Parsons said. “In addition, it’s a great learning and educational experience for everybody.”
Parsons, who began volunteering with the festival as a high school student 20 years ago and is now in his third year as director, credits the festival with his decision to become a professional musician. “Eventually, the bug bit me,” he said. “I was hooked.”
Gottlieb, Keberle and Tarantino will also serve as adjudicators, taking the stage after school performances to offer critiques and honors, along with performing themselves.
The festival begins Thursday, Feb. 20, with the High School Invitational, bringing high school groups from Chicago, the suburbs and even Indiana. The invitational ends with a performance by Danny Gottlieb, Ryan Keberle and Alexa Tarantino with the Elmhurst University Jazz Band.
Participating high school bands include Naperville Central, Oak Park and River Forest, Glenbard East in Lombard, St. Charles East, Addison Trail, Fenton in Bensenville, Whitney M. Young in Chicago and Lake Central in St. John, Indiana.
Alexander Stombres, music department chair at Addison Trail High School, said it’s a valuable outing for the students in his school’s Jazz Ensemble.
“My philosophy as a music educator is to get kids exposed to the masters of jazz,” he said. “At the Festival, you get to work with the best jazz musicians in the world.”
Stombres said the opportunity to interact with those top musicians has a lasting effect on his students. “They come back energized and excited.”
Performances by college and university bands begin on Friday, Feb. 21.
That evening’s feature performance will be the WDR Big Band from Cologne, Germany, described by Downbeat magazine as one of Europe’s finest large jazz ensembles. Performing with them will be the Yellowjackets, a Grammy Award-winning American jazz fusion band that has been performing and recording for more than 40 years.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, a clinic and master class with Gottlieb, Keberle and Tarantino begins another day of college performances, followed that evening with a concert by the WDR Big Band and Dave Stryker, hailed by The Village Voice as “one of the most distinctive guitarists to come along in recent years,” according to a University release.
On the final day of the festival, the program features more college and university performances and concludes that afternoon with a performance by the WDR Big Band with Bob Mintzer.
Among the colleges sending bands to the festival are Kansas City Kansas Community College, Columbia College Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Northwestern University, Olivet Nazarene University, The Ohio State University, Purdue University, Ashland University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Joliet Junior College, College of DuPage, Harper College, Hillsdale College and Elmhurst University.
The Elmhurst University Jazz Festival is a forum for jazz education, with acclaimed artists gathering with the next generation of musicians to explore and perform music, according to event organizers. Students have access to some of the best musicians in the business and can talk with them about their work and artistry, gaining professional connections and insights. Elmhurst University students run the festival, giving them relevant, firsthand experience and a professional edge in a highly competitive marketplace.
“The jazz world is small but mighty,” Parsons said. “We want to welcome everybody.”
This year’s sessions and featured performances will take place in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel in the center of the Elmhurst University campus, 190 Prospect Ave., Elmhurst. Some performances also will be live streamed. Information and tickets are at elmhurst.edu/JazzFestival.
Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
