Marshall University’s 49th annual Winter Jazz Festival will take place beginning Thursday, Feb. 22, and continue through Saturday, Feb. 24, in Smith Recital Hall on Marshall’s Huntington campus. Special guest artists will include pianist Bob Thompson and jazz bassist Tom Hildreth.
Fifteen regional middle school and high school bands will be present for adjudication on Friday and Saturday, and concerts, which are free and open to the public, will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The Cabell Midland Jazz Ensemble will be featured in the Thursday night opening concert, along with the MU Jazz II ensemble, composed of Marshall students. On Friday, both guest artists will perform with the Marshall University Faculty Jazz Combo, and on Saturday, both will join the Jazz I Ensemble, also composed of Marshall students.
Thompson is a prominent West Virginia jazz musical icon and regular on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s “Mountain Stage.” Hildreth is from Charlotte, North Carolina, and has performed and recorded with some of the best jazz and commercial artists of the past century.
Although admission to the concerts is free, organizers will ask for donations toward the jazz program at Marshall.
For further information, please call the Marshall music department at 304-696-3117.
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Photos: Pianist Bob Thompson (left) and bassist Tom Hildreth will be the guest artists for this year’s Winter Jazz Festival.