Feb. 15-16, 2019 will mark the 26th year of the Friends University Jazz Festival, and my final year as Director of Jazz Programs at Friends. I will be retiring in May. I could not think of a better way to celebrate my 30 years at Friends, than by inviting all my former jazz students to return on this weekend and celebrate with me. We have secured the Crown Uptown Theater for the weekend and on Friday, Feb. 15th I will host a dinner and jam session there. Former students and their guests will meet at 7 PM for a catered dinner, and be entertained by the current jazz groups. At 8:30 PM, we will open the Crown to everyone who wants to come have a drink (yes there will be a cash bar!), and listen to some great jazz played by current and former students. There will be no cost involved.
Saturday, Feb. 16th will be the headliner concert starting at 7:30 PM, and will feature The Four Freshmen, JVE, and a great big band made up of Friends University Jazz Alumni. To secure tickets for this concert, you need to either visit the website crownuptown.com, or call them at (316) 612-7696. This concert will sell out fast, so get your tickets soon!
As usual, all day on Friday (15th) and Saturday (16th), we will have middle school, high school and community college jazz bands on our campus doing performances and educational clinics. All daytime activities are free and open to the public. By mid January, you can check our website (Friends.edu), for the daytime schedule.