The Eastern Michigan University Jazz Ensemble will perform a tribute to Duke Ellington and Count Basie at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Student Center Auditorium.
The ensemble, featuring approximately 20 EMU music students and Dr. Alex Graham as a guest alto saxophonist, is under the direction of professor Donald Babcock.
Many of the ensemble’s members also perform with other EMU bands such as the Symphony Orchestra and smaller jazz combos. This group of dedicated students has been preparing for this concert since the beginning of the winter semester.
Graham, jazz artist in residence for winter 2010, has performed with many popular artists including The Four Tops, The Temptations, Aaron Goldberg and Dena Derose. His groups have opened concerts for Dave Brubeck, The Count Basie Orchestra and John Pizzarelli, to name a few.
“I’ve been playing the alto sax since I was 10,” Graham said. “That was 27 years ago.”
Graham received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. and is currently the director of jazz studies at the Bay View Festival in Petoskey, Mich.
Although Graham did not take any classes from EMU, he still takes pride in what he does here. Graham will be performing in half the pieces on Tuesday’s concert.
“My primary job is as music director at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island where I perform from May through October every year,” Graham said. “I also play and record with my own groups here in Southeast Michigan, at regional jazz festivals and clubs in New York City.”
The instrumentation for Tuesday’s concert is a traditional big band jazz setup: four trumpets, four trombones, five saxophones, piano, guitar, bass and drums.
The ensemble will be performing four jazz pieces including Sammy Nestico’s “Magic Flea,” Billy Strayhorn’s “Passion Flower,” Sammy Nestico’s arrangement of Duke Ellington’s “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me” and Duke Ellington’s “In a Mellow Tone.”
Because of the improvisatory nature of jazz music, relationships must be made among the members of the ensemble in order for the sound to come out right. This requires full ensemble rehearsals and countless hours of individual practice. The members have been rehearsing these songs since January with the aid of Graham and Babcock.
For anyone interested in joining the EMU Jazz Ensemble, it is open to all students by audition the first week of classes. Rehearsals are generally held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:15-5:45 p.m.
