Drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, saxophonist Larry Panella, trombonist Roland Barber and MTSU jazz faculty will present clinics and concerts as a part of the MTSU Illinois Jacquet Jazz Festival coming up March 14–16 in the MTSU School of Music.
A pair of concerts scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall of the Wright Music Building—one on Thursday, March 14, and one on Saturday, March 16, are part of the series known as the MTSU Jazz Artist Series. Saxophonist Panella will headline the March 14 concert and drummer/composer Watts will headline the March 16 concert that caps the daylong educational festival for area middle and high school jazz students.
Panella, director of jazz studies at the University of Southern Mississippi, will bring his unique approach to contemporary jazz standards. An alumnus of the Woody Herman Orchestra and the Phil Collins Big Band, Panella will be joined by MTSU jazz faculty Matt Endahl (piano), Derrek Phillips (drums), Mike Parkinson (trumpet), Jamey Simmons (trumpet) and Jonathan Wires (bass).
Multi-Grammy-Award-winning drummer Watts will bring his experience as the drummer for acclaimed horn players Wynton and Branford Marsalis to the festival. Watts, who has earned a reputation as a brilliant performer, was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2017 for music composition. Several Watts compositions will be featured at the March 16 concert.
Watts will be joined by area trombonist Roland Barber, a mainstay of the Nashville jazz scene, as well as by the MTSU Faculty Jazztet and students in the MTSU Jazz Ensemble.
“This year’s festival features innovative performers and educators that will be once in a lifetime opportunities for jazz students and audiences to experience,” said Simmons, director of jazz studies at MTSU.
MTSU students and area high school jazz students will participate in concerts and clinics throughout the day led by faculty members and guests.
Watts will share his skills at a free clinic at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, in Hinton Music Hall.
Trombonist Barber, a master of improvisation, will perform at noon that day in Wright Music Building Room 173 with MTSU Jazz Ensemble II, directed by Aliquo.
The MTSU Illinois Jacquet Jazz Festival is sponsored in part by The Illinois Jacquet Foundation, a nonprofit group honoring the memory of tenor saxophone innovator Jean-Baptiste “Illinois” Jacquet. In addition to providing educational outreach about the history of jazz, the foundation offers scholarships and grants to jazz music students at some of the most prestigious institutions throughout the United States, ultimately empowering them to make a positive and powerful impact on the future of jazz.
MTSU saxophonist Gabe Collins, a junior jazz studies major, is the current recipient of the Jacquet Scholarship.
Tickets for the evening concerts on March 14 and 16 are $10 for the public and free for MTSU students, faculty and staff. For reserved tickets, call (615) 898-2724 or email james.simmons@mtsu.edu
For more information about the festival, visit mtsu.edu/music/jazzfest.php.
