One of the oldest and best collegiate jazz festivals in the country, the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival will celebrate its 47th year from Thursday, February 20, through Sunday, February 23.
This year’s featured performers include The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra; Ryan Truesdell and the Gil Evans Project; and Andy Martin, Bobby Shew and Gary Smulyan with the Elmhurst College Jazz Band.
Each February, the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival welcomes the industry’s top professional musicians and the nation’s leading college bands for three days of performances and education. The college bands take turns performing for some of the greatest names in professional jazz today, who offer critiques and award honors in a variety of areas. Then the professionals conclude each night of the Festival with an exciting performance of their own.
“This confluence of talent and aspiration makes the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival one of the most dynamic such events in the country,” Chicago Tribune jazz critic Howard Reich wrote in an article last year.
This year’s Festival begins at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 20, with the High School Invitational, featuring local high school jazz ensembles, and will conclude with a performance by festival adjudicators Andy Martin, Bobby Shew and Gary Smulyan with the Elmhurst College Jazz Band.
Beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, February 21, and Saturday, February 22, award-winning collegiate jazz ensembles from around the country will perform.
Friday’s evening session will begin at 7:30 p.m. with performances by college ensembles and will conclude with a performance by The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra.
Saturday’s evening session will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will close with a feature performance by Ryan Truesdell and the Gil Evans Project Big Band.
Sunday’s afternoon session begins at 11:30 a.m. and will conclude with a performance by Andy Martin, Bobby Shew and Gary Smulyan with the Elmhurst College Jazz Band.
The Elmhurst College Jazz Festival will be held in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel on the Elmhurst campus. Tickets range in price from $10 to $35. Weekend package tickets also are available. For more information or to order tickets, please contact the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival office at (630) 617-5534 or visit the Jazz Festival’s website.