Longtime veteran trombonist of Saturday Night Live Steve Turre (right) and regular Ellis Marsalis Band trumpeter Ashlin Parker will be special guests during the School of Music’s 48th Annual Winter Jazz Festival Feb. 16-18.
The festival’s daily concerts will begin at 7 p.m. in Smith Recital Hall on Marshall’s Huntington campus, while the special guests will perform with the Marshall University Faculty Jazz Combo on Friday and the Jazz I Ensemble on Saturday. Thirteen regional middle and high school bands will be present for adjudication each night.
Turre has been performing as a member of the Saturday Night Live Band since 1984. His career originally picked up momentum when Ray Charles hired him to go on tour in 1972. He has since worked with a diverse list of musicians from the jazz, Latin and pop worlds.
Parker, who is based in New Orleans, has played with ensembles at international festivals and clubs in Germany, Russia, India, Switzerland, Brazil, Wales, England, Barbados, Bermuda, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, France, Hungary, Finland and Norway. He shared in the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble for the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra’s debut album, titled “Book One.” Since 2011, Parker has been leading the jazz trumpet studio in the music department at the University of New Orleans.
The 48th Annual Winter Jazz Festival is open to the public. While admission is free, the jazz department will be collecting donations for the program. For more information, contact Dr. Martin Saunders, director of jazz studies, by e-mail at saunders35@marshall.edu or by phone at 304-696-4316.