JAZZ IT UP: Sandoval heads groovy set for Alcorn State Jazz Fest

Published 11:13 am Thursday, April 10, 2014

Arturo Sandoval

Arturo Sandoval

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.

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“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.

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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