Professional musicians, music students and university faculty will bring the sounds of jazz to venues around the city for the University of Akron’s JazzWeek.
The annual event kicks off Monday with a different concert each day through Friday. Performances will take place on and off campus and are open to everyone. With Jazz Week, University of Akron School of Music students have a chance to interact with and learn from professional musicians.
“The students are getting a chance to play and break bread with a musician that is not from the local area,” said Christopher Coles, assistant professor of practice and JazzWeek director. “So you bring in an artist that’s nationally, internationally acclaimed, and it just changes the students’ perspective a little bit.”
One of this year’s headliners is acclaimed jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman. Both Coles and his colleague Theron Brown cited Redman’s influence on their own work as musicians.
“He’s one of those folks that was connected directly to the (jazz) lineage. He was able to study with people that created this music,” said Brown, an assistant professor and chair of the Jazz Studies program.
Coles said Redman’s album “Elastic” changed his life.
“Genre wasn’t a thing with his aesthetic. It all just worked,” Coles said. “I feel like a lot of people write and play saxophone the way they do partially because of him.”
Also headlining this year is trumpeter and visiting artist-in-residence Sean Jones. The Warren, Ohio, native will open JazzWeek with a performance at BLU Jazz+, with support from SmokeFace, Floco Torres and the university’s student-led Birth of the Cool Ensemble.
Jones will join Redman for a performance April 8 at E.J. Thomas Hall, then wrap up his JazzWeek run Wednesday as he and faculty from the university’s School of Music perform Miles Davis’ “Birth of the Cool” album. Another student ensemble, the Jazz Trio, will open the performance.
Giving university students the chance to perform has always been an important part of JazzWeek, Coles said.
“It’s something to be able to play for (other) students, like you’re playing on campus and the students are hearing you. It’s another thing to play in public, in the community,” he said. “And I think they should have as many opportunities as they can to do that.”
JazzWeek is also an opportunity for the public to learn about the Jazz Studies program and the work of its students and faculty.
“I think this is our way to keep the connection between education and the community accessible,” Brown said. “Allowing really high-level artists to come in and not only work with our students, but we’re (also) opening up the door now for folks to come in and check out the music and share the experiences with us.”
JazzWeek 25 schedule
Sean Jones, SmokeFace, Floco Torres and the University of Akron Birth of the Cool Ensemble
April 7, 8 p.m. | BLU Jazz+ (47 E. Market St.)
Admission: $15 at the door or free with a student ID
Joshua Redman Group, Sean Jones and the University of Akron Jazz Ensemble
April 8, 7:30 p.m. | E.J. Thomas Hall (198 Hill St.)
Admission: $30 or free with a student ID
Sean Jones, University of Akron faculty and the University of Akron Jazz Trio play Miles Davis’ “Birth of the Cool”
April 9, 8 p.m. | Guzzetta Hall at the University of Akron (228 E. Buchtel Ave.)
Admission: Free, donations accepted
The University of Akron Jazz Ensemble and the University of Akron Birth of the Cool Ensemble
April 10, 8 p.m. | Musica (51 E. Market St.)
Admission: Free, donations accepted
Hubb’s Groove Jazz Vespers
April 11, 7 p.m. | St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (1361 W. Market St.)
Admission: Free, donations accepted
Editor’s note: Floco Torres is Signal Ohio’s audience engagement specialist.