Jazz Festival
Featured Performers
Elmhurst College Jazz Festival
The 46th installment of the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival was one of our best yet! Click on the names below to read more about the world-class performers featured at last year's Festival.
Denis DiBlasio
Dave Douglas Quintet
Bobby Floyd
Dennis Mackrel
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Byron Stripling
Denis DiBlasio
Denis DiBlasio is known throughout the world as an accomplished baritone saxophone and flute artist. He toured as Maynard Ferguson’s music director for five years, and he continues to travel widely both performing and teaching. Currently he is director of the jazz program at Rowan University in New Jersey and clinician for the Yamaha Corporation. The sheer joy of spontaneity, intensity, and depth of expression all come together in the jazz artistry of Denis DiBlasio.
Mr. DiBlasio joins our three artist/adjudicators at the Thursday, February 21 High School Invitational.
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Dave Douglas Quintet
Dave Douglas is a prolific trumpeter, composer, and educator from New York City. His unique contributions to improvised music have garnered distinguished recognition, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Aaron Copland award, and multiple GRAMMY nominations. He operates his own label, Greenleaf Music, releasing both his own recordings and albums by other artists in the jazz idiom, and he continues to prove himself a forward-thinking leader in the realm of digital music distribution.
We are proud to welcome the Dave Douglas Quintet on Friday, February 22.
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Bobby Floyd
The passion with which Bobby Floyd plays piano, organ, and keyboards is the result of his natural ability (discovered at the age of two), love of music, and years of practice. He has performed extensively in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan as well as at home in Ohio with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony, and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. He is featured on many recordings including Rusty Bryant’s Rusty Rides Again, which received five stars in DownBeat magazine.
Mr. Floyd serves as guest artist/adjudicator, and he will perform on Thursday, February 21 as part of the High School Invitational and on Sunday, February 24 in a feature performance.
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Dennis Mackrel
Drummer/composer/arranger Dennis Mackrel was born in 1962 and began playing the drums at the age of two. In 1981 Dennis moved to New York City and landed a gig as a drummer on Broadway. In 1983 he joined the Count Basie Orchestra on the personal recommendation of Joe Williams, whose attention Dennis caught as a member of the University of Las Vegas Jazz Ensemble. He would become the youngest member of the Orchestra and the last drummer to be hired by Mr. Basie personally, and in 2010 he became the leader of the Count Basie Orchestra.
Mr. Mackrel serves as guest artist/adjudicator, and he will perform on Thursday, February 21 as part of the High School Invitational and on Sunday, Feburary 24 in a feature performance.
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Maria Schneider Orchestra
Maria Schneider’s music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond characterization.” She and her orchestra became widely known starting in 1994 when they released their first recording, Evanescence. With that recording, Schneider began to develop her personal way of writing for her 17-member collective, tailoring her compositions to distinctly highlight the unique voices of the group. Subsequently, the Maria Schneider Orchestra has performed at festivals and concert halls worldwide.
The Maria Schneider Orchestra performs on Saturday, February 23.
Byron Stripling
A spectacular trumpeter with a wide range, a beautiful tone, and the ability to blend together many influences into his own style, Byron Stripling also is the artistic director of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, the leader of his own quartet, and an in-demand performer with pops orchestras around the world. Stripling is an extroverted performer who brings the audience into his music. The happiness he exudes through his trumpet, vocals, and words is reminiscent of Louis Armstrong yet very much his own.
Mr. Stripling serves as guest artist/adjudicator, and he will perform on Thursday, February 21 as part of the High School Invitational and on Sunday, Feburary 24 in a feature performance.