While many might be looking forward to attending the 11th edition of the Number Fest this weekend, others are anticipating attending an entirely different festival: the Athens Jazz Festival.
The Ohio University jazz combos and ensembles, as well as seven high-school bands and one middle-school band, will perform works from renowned composers, including Miles Davis and Les Hooper, in order to celebrate the genre during Jazz Appreciation Month.
“It’s sensational to see (the younger musicians) come and improve on their instruments,” said Matthew James, co-director of the festival and professor of saxophone and jazz studies. “It feeds their love for the music.”
The festival will also feature professional musicians Rob Parton and Bob Thompson. Both will play with Jazz Ensemble I and II, with Parton on trumpet and Thompson playing piano.
A highly regarded performer and educator, Parton has worked with artists such as Josh Groban while also being a part of several theater productions. Thompson has an extensive background in jazz recording and performing, including being the house pianist for Mountain Stage, a music broadcast in Charleston that has featured k.d. Lang.
A major component to this festival is the clinical period students will have with a panel to adjudicate their performance. A workshop with each guest artist will also be held and is available for anyone interested.
Michael Parkinson, co-director of the festival and professor of music, said the clinical time is extremely important for developing musicians, especially when it is from professionals who are available to students.
“It’s, ‘Let’s play and (also) let’s talk,’ ” he said. “It’s not just someone standing in front of a band (lecturing). It’s someone who knows the music and knows how to talk to students.”
Jordan Reed, a saxophone and jazz graduate assistant, said the community venues in the festival, Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery and ARTS/West, perfectly match the nature of jazz music, which is “non-stuffy” and “improvisatory.”
James said the venues also provide a way to get the community more involved in jazz music while also helping the student musicians.
mg986611@ohiou.edu
