Jazz students and faculty from the Eastman School of Music will perform on the first night of the 8th Annual JEN (Jazz Education Network) Conference, being held in New Orleans Jan. 4 to 7, 2017.
Jazz students and faculty will be performing at the 2017 JEN Conference.
JEN is an international organization that promotes and advances jazz education, performance, and development of new audiences. The annual conference features workshops, panel discussions, research presentations, clinics, and concerts.
The Eastman Chamber Jazz Ensemble will be joined by Grammy- and Emmy-winning keyboardist, singer, and composer David Paich to perform the music of West Coast arranger Marty Paich, who arranged music for such singers as Ray Charles, Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and many others.
David Paich, who is a founding member of the band Toto and the son of Marty Paich, is working with Eastman’s Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media Department to house and perform his father’s music at the school. In 2014, the Eastman Chamber Jazz Ensemble under Jeff Campbell received a DownBeat award for its performance of the music of Marty Paich with David Paich and drummer Dennis Mackrel.
Performing in the ensemble at the JEN conference are Eastman students Luke Norris, C.J. Ziarniak, and Orlando Madrid, saxophone; Charlie Carr, trumpet; Abe Nouri and Tanner Jackson, trombone; and Rebekah Lorenz, horn. Faculty members joining the ensemble are Charles Pillow, saxophone; Clay Jenkins, trumpet; Harold Danko and Jeffrey Benetar, piano; Jeff Campbell, double bass; and Rich Thompson, drums.
The Eastman Chamber Jazz Ensemble is a select ensemble which has performed both locally and internationally, including the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, Saint Peter’s Church in New York City, and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy.
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