All the foot-tapping and shoulder-swagging that comes with the syncopated rhythms of jazz will be going on Saturday at the Vicksburg Convention Center for the 34th annual Alcorn State University Jazz Festival.

This year’s all-day event will feature Arturo Sandoval, one of world’s leading jazz trumpet and flugelhorn players as well as being a renowned classical artist, pianist and composer.

Sandoval was a protégé of legendary jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, said Annette Kirklin, executive director of the convention center. He’s won 10 Grammy Awards, six Billboard Awards and an Emmy Award for composing the score of a 2000 HBO film, “For Love or Country,” in which actor Andy Garcia played the Cuban-born Sandoval.

“It’s amazing that he is coming to Vicksburg,” Kirklin said. “Sandoval is a jazz legend and will be performing here free,” she said.

Dr. David Miller, the festival director and professor of music at Alcorn State University echoed Kirklin by saying that to hear a concert by Sandoval one would pay upwards of $100 for a ticket, “and in Vicksburg since it is such a small venue everyone will get good seats,” he added.

Miller said that the show should be really good and encouraged everyone to come out and take advantage of the opportunity to see a jazz musician of Sandoval’s caliber.

The Saturday festival will also include performances by some of the most outstanding professional jazz musicians and university, college and secondary school jazz ensembles from throughout the United States and afternoon workshops and evening concerts are also scheduled.

The Arturo Sandoval Group will perform beginning at 8 p.m.

The free jazz festival is funded in part by the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Southern Arts Federation and the National Endowment for the Arts. It is also made possible by a joint effort by Alcorn State University and the Vicksburg Convention Center.

For more information, call 601-630-2929.

 

If you go 

The 34th annual Alcorn State Jazz Festival will be held Saturday at the Vicksburg Convention Center, 1600 Mulberry St. The free all-day event will include workshops, performances, an awards ceremony and a reception. Arturo Sandoval is this year’s featured artist. High school and University Jazz ensembles will perform from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the Arturo Sandoval workshop will run from 4 to 5 p.m. followed by an awards ceremony and reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The Mississippi Jazz Educators will take the stage from 7 to 7:50 p.m. and the Arturo Sandoval Group performance will begin at 8 p.m. For more information, call 601-630-2929.

 

The schedule:

9:30-9:55 a.m. — Cleveland High School

10-10:25 a.m. — Moss Point High School

10:30-11:25 a.m. — Grenada Middle School and Jazz Ensemble II

11:30-11:55 a.m. — Wayne County High School

Noon-12:25 p.m. — Jackson State University Vocal Jazz Ensemble

12:30-12:55 p.m. — JSU Jazz Ensemble II

1-1:25 p.m. — JSU Jazz Ensemble I

1:30-1:55 p.m. — University of Southern Mississippi

2-2:25 p.m. — Magnolia Blues 41st Army Jazz Band

2:30-2:55 p.m. — Waltrip High School

3-3:30 p.m. — Alcorn State University

4-5 p.m. —  Sandoval Workshop

5-6:30 p.m. — Student Award Ceremony/Reception

7-7:45 p.m. — Jazz Educators concert

8 p.m. — Arturo Sandoval Group concert, including Sandoval, Ed Calle on saxophone, Kemuel Roig on piano, Dennis Mark on bass, Alexis Arce on drums and Armando Arc on percussion.