Wednesday, February 18, 2009
PRINCESS ANNE, MD-Widely recognized for his mastery of the highest registers of the trumpet, renowned musician and music educator Jon Faddis will join the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Jazz Ensemble in concert on Wednesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. in the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts.
“We are pleased to bring a jazz musician of Mr. Faddis caliber to the university and to the community for this performance,” said Dr. John R. Lamkin, director of bands, assistant professor in the Department of Fine Arts, division of music at UMES. “He is sure to provide a memorable evening of top jazz artistry.”
With the tutelage of mentors and jazz greats John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, Stan Kenton, trumpeter Bill Catalano and Charles Mingus, Faddis surpassed even some of their skills. He became known for his ability to sound like Dizzy Gillespie, a master of controlled melodic lines in high registers, who is reported to have said that Faddis is “the best ever, including me!”
A much sought after studio musician in New York City, Faddis began his career as a trumpeter with Lionel Hampton’s big band and later the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. His solo career produced several albums including “Legacy,” “Into The Faddisphere” and “Hornucopia.” He later became the director and main trumpet soloist of the Dizzy Gillespie 70th Birthday Big Band and Dizzy’s United Nation Orchestra. From 1992 to 2002, Faddis led the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. He later led the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars Big Band. His 1999 recording “Remembrances” was nominated for a Grammy.
Faddis currently leads both the Chicago Jazz Ensemble based at Columbia College in Chicago, Ill. and the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra of New York. He teaches at The Conservatory of Music at Purchase College-SUNY, in Westchester, N.Y. He shares his skills as an educator in master classes and workshops.
Admission to the UMES Jazz Ensemble concert is $10 for the general public, $5 for UMES staff and faculty and free for UMES students with ID. For more information, call 410-651-6571.
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Gail Stephens, assistant director, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-651-7580, gcstephens@umes.edu.
