Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Three collegiate bands unite for Jazz Appreciation Month celebration
PRINCESS ANNE, MD-(April 18, 2011)In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), held each April, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore is hosting the first annual Big Band Bash.
The jazz ensembles of Bowie State, Morgan State and UMES gather on one stage to perform music from some of the greatest jazz composers-Charlie Mingus, Duke Ellington, Frank Foster and Count Basie-that ever lived, John R. Lamkin, director of bands at UMES, said. The event takes place on Friday, April 29, at 7 p.m. in the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts. General admission is $7, with students admitted for $3.
The concept was the dream of one man-Tom DeLane, a retired music administrator from Baltimore City schools and a member of the Jazz Heritage Society, Lamkin said.
“He was always trying to get us together to showcase the students in the various jazz programs,” Lamkin said. DeLane supervised Lamkin as a young music teacher in Baltimore prior to coming to UMES and taught Melvin Miles, the band director from Morgan State. “I felt compelled for this to come to fruition for him.”
Lamkin said each band will play a half-hour set with members from all of the bands uniting for one final piece. Following this inaugural event at UMES, each campus will take a turn in rotation in subsequent years.
Call 410-651-6571 for more information.
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