[ Jazz Festival ]

Featured Artists

43rd Annual Elmhurst College Jazz Festival

The 43rd installment of the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival is shaping up as one of best yet! Click on the names below to read more about these world-class performers.

Patrick Williams & Friends
  Wayne Bergeron
  Warren Luening
  Tom Scott
  Bill Watrous
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
Michael Davis
Phil Markowitz
Gary Smulyan

Friday, February 26, 2010

Patrick Williams

Having composed the music for over 65 feature films, 100 television films, 25 television series, 18 albums, and 30 concert works, Patrick Williams has established himself as one of the most accomplished and prolific composers in the music industry today. His arranging credits are also extensive, including Patti Austin's For Ella and Frank Sinatra's Duets and Duets II. His big band recordings, including Threshold, Too Hip for the Room, Tenth Avenue, and Sinatraland are considered modern classics, and he has an Academy Award nomination, 2 Grammy Awards, 17 Grammy nominations, 4 Emmy Awards, and 22 Emmy nominations.

The Elmhurst College Jazz Festival is proud to feature Mr. Williams, in his his first Festival appearance, in concert with Wayne Bergeron, Warren Luening, Tom Scott, and Bill Watrous with members of the Elmhurst College Jazz Band.

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Wayne Bergeron

Wayne Bergeron is enjoying a career as one of the most active musicians in Los Angeles. His television and film soundtrack credits are too numerous to list, and his 2004 recording You Call This A Living? earned rave reviews and a Grammy nomination. About his membership in the great Maynard Ferguson’s big band, Maynard had this to say: "Wayne is the most musical lead trumpet player I've ever had on my band." He continues to perform in some of L.A.’s most respected big bands, including those of Quincy Jones, Gordon Goodwin, and Patrick Williams.

Mr. Bergeron first appeared at the Festival in 2004 with Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band.  Last year, we welcomed him for his first appearance as a guest artist/adjudicator.  This year, we are proud to welcome him back to perform both with Patrick Williams and as a member of Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band.

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Warren Luening

Warren Luening is recognized as one of the music industry's top trumpet artists.  His ability to perform in a wide variety of styles, including classical, jazz, and pop/rock, makes him one of the most sought-after trumpeters in the music business.  As a jazz artist he has worked with Bob Florence, Quincy Jones, Sammy Nestico, Mel Torme, Billy May, Patrick Williams, and Frank Sinatra.  His recent recording work includes albums by Natalie Cole, Barry Manilow, Paul Anka, and Willie Nelson, and he plays on the television shows Dancing with the Stars, America's Got Talent, Family Guy, and American Dad.  He has performed on the Academy Awards 25 times, and he has recorded over 1500 movie soundtracks - including scores by Randy Newman, Alan Silvestri, John Williams, Danny Elfman, Henry Mancini, Dave Grusin, Michel LeGrand, Johnny Mandel, and John Barry.  

We welcome Mr. Luening for his first appearance at the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival.

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Tom Scott

Tom Scott is a renowned composer, arranger, producer, musical director, and saxophonist. He has 29 solo recordings to his credit and for these efforts has earned 3 Grammy Awards and 13 Grammy nominations. Tom’s career as a guest recording artist spans more than 450 recordings by such diverse artists as Barbra Streisand, Quincy Jones, Thelonius Monk, Lalo Schifrin, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and Chris Botti. His newly recorded Concord Records CD entitled Cannon Re-Loaded - A Tribute to Cannonball Adderley, featuring Nancy Wilson, George Duke, Marcus Miller, Terence Blanchard & Steve Gadd, was released in March 2008.

The Elmhurst College Jazz Festival is proud to welcome Mr. Scott for his first appearance.

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Bill Watrous

One of the finest bop-oriented trombonists of the past 30 years, Bill Watrous has had a low profile since moving to Los Angeles in the 1980's, despite remaining quite active. Possessor of a beautiful tone and remarkable technique, Watrous has been constantly overlooked in jazz popularity polls of the past two decades. He has performed with Kai Winding, Quincy Jones, Maynard Ferguson, Johnny Richards, and Woody Herman, to name just a few.  

This is Mr. Watrous' first appearance at the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival.

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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, an 18-piece jazz ensemble, celebrates and personifies the best of the big band tradition with a very contemporary and original sound.  Through the writing genius of Gordon Goodwin, audiences everywhere have enjoyed one of the most craftsman-like hard swinging large jazz ensembles, comprised of L.A.’s finest musicians.  Gordon’s witty and insightful arrangements propel the listener on a journey through a myriad of styles:  latin, blues, swing, classical, hard-hitting jazz, and even an homage to Looney Tunes !  

2010 marks the second performance of the Big Phat Band at the Festival.

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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Michael Davis

Trombonist-composer Michael Davis does it all. Hailed as one of today's premier instrumentalists, he has established himself as a first-call sideman, both in the studio and on the concert stage, for the entertainment world's biggest stars - including the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan and Michael Jackson. In the field of music education, he has served as a clinician around the world, while also authoring a number of highly esteemed instructional books and band arrangements for musicians of all ages and abilities.

This is Mr. Davis' second appearance as guest artist/adjudicator at the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival.

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Phil Markowitz

Phil Markowitz, 30-year veteran of the international jazz scene, is deidcated to realizing the full potential of improvisational music within the jazz idiom.  Inventive, virtuosic, and accessible, Markowitz presents a forward-looking vision for contemporary music.  He has performed and recorded with Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, David Liebman (as part of the Saxophone Summit group), Chet Baker, Toots Thielemans, Bob Mintzer, Mel Lewis, Phil Woods, Joe Chambers, Miroslav Vitous, and many others.

Mr. Markowitz returns for a second appearance as guest artist/adjudicator at this year's Festival.

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Gary Smulyan

Winner of the 2009 Critics Poll for baritone saxophone, Gary Smulyan is recognized as the major voice on his instrument.  His playing is marked by an aggressive rhythmic sense, an intelligent and creative harmonic approach, and a strong and incisive wit.  His career has seen membership in Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herd, the Mingus Big Band, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, with which his weekly Monday night Village Vanguard gigs continue to this day.  Always in search of new ideas, in 2008 he released High Noon - The Jazz Soul of Frankie Laine, a nine piece band tribute to the prolific 1940's and '50's pop singer Frankie Laine.

We welcome Mr. Smulyan to the Festival for his third appearance as guest artist/adjudicator.

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