IU Summer Festival Jazz “Dream Team” a sure bet: IU News Room: Indiana University

Media Contacts

Alain Barker
IU Jacobs School of Music
abarker@indiana.edu
812-856-5719

Linda Cajigas
IU Jacobs School of Music
musicpub@indiana.edu
812-855-9846

IU Summer Festival Jazz “Dream Team” a sure bet

Print this page

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music's "Dream Team" is a sure bet for a winning evening when the Festival Jazz Orchestra performs July 14 at 8 p.m. in the Musical Arts Center during the IU Summer Music Festival.

The Festival Jazz Orchestra will perform July 14.

Print-Quality Photo

Reminiscent of the U.S. men's 1992 Olympic basketball team -- where organizers were able to pick the very best of the best and assemble the unforgettable "Dream Team" -- IU Jacobs School of Music Dean Gwyn Richards approached IU Distinguished Professor and Chair of the IU Jazz Studies Department David N. Baker and the rest of the jazz faculty two years ago about assembling the crème de la crème of the Indiana jazz world, and beyond, to form a new ensemble to add to the already impressive ranks of the IU Summer Music Festival.

Thus the formidable Festival Jazz Orchestra, directed by Baker himself, was born, and it will continue the tradition for the third year this summer.

David Baker

Print-Quality Photo

"This concert is a smorgasbord of original compositions and arrangements of favorite jazz compositions," said Baker. "They're written, arranged and chosen by the All-Star performers who comprise this group of distinguished Jacobs School alumni and faculty."

Baker and his IU jazz faculty colleagues have once again handpicked a roster of primarily IU graduates, all of whom have gone on to extremely successful careers in performance, teaching or recording -- often, all three. The group reads like a who's who of jazz:

Saxophones: Tom Walsh, lead alto; David Bixler, alto; Ralph Bowen, tenor; Roger Pemberton, tenor; Jon Gudmundson, baritone;
Trombones: Brent Wallarab, lead; Tim Coffman; Erick Storckman; Rich Dole, bass trombone;
Trumpets: Joey Tartell, lead; Pat Harbison, Lenny Foy, Derrick Gardner, Mark Buselli;
Rhythm: Jeremy Allen, bass; Luke Gillespie, piano; Steve Houghton, drums.
Drummer Steve Houghton and trumpeter Tartell, both faculty members at the Jacobs School, are the only musicians who didn't study at IU.

Indeed, the Festival Jazz Orchestra well-represents the legacy of jazz at IU, with the affiliations of its members, composers and arrangers dating back as far as the late forties and as recent as today. In many ways, the orchestra vividly portrays the past, present and future of jazz at IU.

The standout players and Baker have chosen music by some of the jazz world's biggest names, including Joe Henderson, Slide Hampton, Charles Mingus and Baker, as well as several members of the orchestra.

Tickets are on sale now and can be obtained from the following:

In person: The Musical Arts Center Box Office is located on Jordan Avenue between Third and Seventh streets and is open Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Phone 812-855-7433 for information.
By phone: Call Ticketmaster at 812-333-9955.
Online: https://www.music.indiana.edu/summer

Web links to artists performing in the ensemble:

Jacobs School of Music faculty

Jeremy Allen: https://www.myspace.com/jeremyallenmusic

David Baker: https://info.music.indiana.edu/sb/page/normal/22.html

Luke Gillespie: https://info.music.indiana.edu/sb/page/normal/863.html

Pat Harbison: https://info.music.indiana.edu/sb/page/normal/864.html

Steve Houghton: https://info.music.indiana.edu/sb/page/normal/1010.html

Joey Tartell: https://info.music.indiana.edu/sb/page/normal/856.html

Brent Wallarab: https://www.bwjo.org/about.htm

Tom Walsh: https://info.music.indiana.edu/sb/page/normal/831.html

Additional musicians in the ensemble

David Bixler: https://www.davidbixler.com