A Centennial Celebration of Jazz Jacobsen Series

TACOMA, Wash. – It was 1917 when the United States entered the Great War, but for jazz lovers that was only one momentous event in a thoroughly remarkable year. On April 25, 1917, Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born. On Oct. 10 a child prodigy named Thelonious Sphere Monk came to be. And 11 days later, on Oct. 21, John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie took his first golden breath. An era that would make America the birthplace of a worldwide revolution in music was about to begin.

Today, 100 years later, the School of Music at University of Puget Sound is celebrating that seminal moment with a Jacobsen Series concert: A Centennial Celebration of Jazz. Everyone is welcome to an evening with faculty, guest artists, and students performing some favorites by the three jazz greats. The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, in Schneebeck Concert Hall on campus, a short walk northeast of the corner of N. 14th Street and Union Avenue. Ticket information is below.

“I collaborated with Tracy Knoop, director of the jazz orchestra, and Dawn Padula, director of vocal studies, to select tunes for the concert,” said Rob Hutchinson, professor of music theory and composition. “We chose songs the artists are famous for performing, or songs they are famous for composing and performing. We expect it to be a memorable night.”

The performers include: Dawn Padula, voice; Tracy Knoop, alto saxophone; Rob Hutchinson, bass; and guest artists Bill Anschell, piano, and Andre Thomas, drums. They will be joined by students Zach Armstrong ’18, trumpet; Nic Casey ’20, violin; Ian Crocker ’19, guitar; Gabe Grabovac ’19, piano; Kate Hart ’19, trumpet; Anand Landon ’19, guitar; and William Miyahira ’19, drums.

The evening will feature jazz standards, including Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia,”  “Salt Peanuts,” and “Manteca”; and Ella Fitzgerald’s “A-Tisket A-Tasket,” “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” among other tunes. The tribute to Thelonious Monk will include “Round Midnight”; “Blue Monk”; “Straight, No Chaser”; and “Ruby My Dear.”

The Jacobsen Series, named in honor of Leonard Jacobsen, former chair of the piano department at Puget Sound, has been running since 1984. The Jacobsen Series Scholarship Fund awards annual music scholarships to outstanding student performers and scholars. The fund is sustained entirely by season subscribers and ticket sales.

For more about the faculty and guest artists visit the following Web pages:

Dawn Padula
Tracy Knoop
Rob Hutchinson
Bill Anschell
Andre Thomas

FOR TICKETS: Tickets are available online at tickets.pugetsound.edu, or at Wheelock Information Center, 253.879.3100. Admission is $15 for the general public; $10 for seniors (55+), students, military, and Puget Sound faculty and staff. The concert is free for current Puget Sound students. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door.

For directions and a map of the campus: pugetsound.edu/directions
For accessibility information please contact accessibility@pugetsound.edu or 253.879.3931, or visit pugetsound.edu/accessibility.

Press photos of the performers are available upon request.
Photos on page: From top right: Thelonious Monk at Minton's Playhouse, New York, 1947, by William Gottlieb; Ella Fitzgerald, 1940, by Carl Van Vechter; Dizzy Gillespie at Famous Door, New York, 1946, by William Gottlieb. All photos from Library of Congress.

For More Music Events visit the School of Music calendar.

Tweet this: 100 yrs ago #Jazz greats Fitzgerald, Gillespie, Monk were born. Tribute concert @univpugetsound Fri. Sept. 22 #Tacoma http://bit.ly/2gIIGBL

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