Jazz festival hits campus April 28-29

University of Montana stages will burst with virtuoso performances during the Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival on Friday and Saturday, April 28-29.

Festival highlights will include two evening concerts with DeFranco, described as the greatest “bebop clarinetist” in jazz history, and his celebrity guests. The concerts will be held at 7:30 p.m. both nights in the University Theatre. Tickets may be purchased at http://www.griztix.com or by calling (888) 666-8263.

The festival has been held at UM since 1981 but changed its name when Buddy DeFranco joined the effort in 2000. Lauded as the No. 1 jazz clarinetist in the world by numerous publications, DeFranco was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master last summer.

This year’s guest artists are the New York Voices, Lew Soloff, George Robert, Fred Sturm and Mike Steinel.

The New York Voices are a Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble. Soloff is a renowned trumpet player on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, Julliard and the New School in New York City. Robert is an acclaimed jazz musician who now directs the Swiss Jazz School in Berne, Switzerland. Sturm directs the Jazz and Improvisational Music Program at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wis. Steinel is a prominent jazz trumpeter, pianist, composer and arranger.

Robert and Soloff will join DeFranco during the Friday concert. DeFranco will be joined by the New York Voices during the Saturday concert.

Other artists include David Morgenroth, Clipper Anderson, Robert LedBetter and the UM Jazz Band I.

Besides the evening concerts, school jazz bands from throughout the western United States will perform in the University Theatre from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 28 and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 29. In addition, the New York Voices will offer a clinic at 4 p.m. April 28, and Soloff and Robert will give a April 29 clinic at 1 p.m.

For more information, visit http://www.umt.edu/defrancojazz.