NEWS

NEWBERRY — Newberry College invites you to enjoy world-class artists and music at its 66th Jazz Festival, to be held March 1-2 on campus. The event will coincide with the South Carolina Band Directors Association’s 26th Jazz Performance Assessment.

The weekend will include clinics and concerts with two all-state jazz ensembles, and performances by a record 76 middle and high school jazz bands from across South Carolina. The big event will be a special concert by the Newberry College Jazz Big Band, featuring guest artist Dr. Kevin Jones, associate professor of jazz trombone at Florida State University.

“We are so excited to host a record number of school bands, and we’re especially excited to welcome Dr. Jones from Florida State,” said Dr. Jerry Gatch, director of bands at Newberry College. “This event is a great opportunity for students from middle school, high school and college to grow as musicians and work with some great jazz educators.”

Jones, the event’s headliner, is an accomplished trombonist, saxophonist and educator who has performed with artists including James Brown, Kenny Loggins, the Temptations, Aretha Franklin and more. His duo album, “Singularity” was released by Centaur Records in 2021. Jones has held teaching posts at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of South Carolina, Lander University and Presbyterian College.

Throughout the weekend, the middle and high school jazz ensembles will each perform three selections for adjudicators and receive a rating. These performances will take place in the Alumni Music Center and Wiles Chapel on Friday afternoon and all-day Saturday. The full schedule can be found on the association's website.

High school students from across South Carolina were selected through competitive auditions to participate in two all-state jazz ensembles. Leading the bands this year are professional musicians and educators Mike Steinel, professor emeritus at the University of North Texas; and Will Campbell, director of jazz studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

The all-state bands and the Newberry College Jazz Big Band will perform back-to-back beginning at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in Wiles Chapel. The college band will perform last at 1 p.m. The festival and all concerts are free and open to the public.

The Newberry College Jazz Festival has been one of the longest-running of its kind in the nation, having begun in 1958. The festival has been held in conjunction with the association’s event since 1998.

Photo: Zjane’ Williams ’23 plays trumpet in the Newberry College Jazz Big Band at the 65th Jazz Festival, March 4, 2023.