URI jazz band hits high note: invited to play at Newport Jazz Festival
Media Contact: Elizabeth Rau, 401-874-2116
KINGSTON, RI – June 11, 2013 – Move over Miles. The University of Rhode Island jazz big band will perform this summer at the Newport Jazz Festival, one of the most prestigious music events in the country.Joseph Parillo, chair of URI’s music department, says the honor is a testament to the success of the jazz studies program, launched about a decade ago in the music department. He’s thrilled the band was invited to play. The musicians, alumni and current students, were selected in a blind audition judged by URI faculty and outside musicians and educators.“We’ve had the jazz program for a decade and here we are,’’ says Parillo. “We made it to this point. It’s pretty cool.’’The band will play a 45-minute set starting at noon Aug. 4 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport. Expect to hear “mainstream big band,’’ not the more esoteric jazz of the late Miles Davis.Count Basie’s “Corner Pocket,’’ Thad Jones’ “Groove Merchant,’’ and Sammy Nestico’s “Basie-Straight Ahead’’ are on the playlist. Co-directors Jared Sims and John Monllos will take turns at the podium.“We’re actually going to be on the main stage, which is a really, really big deal,’’ says Sims. “These kids are going to sit in the same spot where some of the legends of jazz music, like Duke Ellington, have been. To be part of the tradition is great. To be included is fantastic.’’
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