HIGH POINT, N.C., March 11, 2015 – High Point University’s Wilson Commerce Ballroom will be transformed into a jazz café for a performance by the HPU Jazz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. on March 24. The event is free and open to the public. No tickets are required. Complimentary cookies and coffee will be served.
Dr. Robert Faub, jazz ensemble director and saxophone instructor, will direct the annual spring concert, which will pay tribute to two significant band leaders of the post-bop era: Art Blakey and Oliver Nelson.
“I wanted to try and create more of a relaxed setting than the concert hall, since much of jazz music was created in cafes and clubs,” says Faub. “I hope this becomes a yearly tradition for our spring jazz performance.”
The program will feature music from Oliver Nelson’s album, “Blues and the Abstract Truth,” and Art Blakey’s album, “Mosaic,” both recorded in 1961. Songs will include Nelson’s “Stolen Moments” and “Yearnin’,” Freddie Hubbard’s “Down Under” and “Crisis,” and Curtis Fuller’s “Arabia.” Sophomore vocalist Mariel Ross will be featured on Marvin Fisher and Jack Segal’s “When Sunny Gets Blue,” and Joe Williams’ “Alright, OK, You Win.”