Fall jazz concerts to take place at Murray State University on Nov. 8

MURRAY, Ky. – The award-winning Murray State University Blue Jazz Combo, Jazz Band and Jazz Orchestra will present their fall campus concerts on Tuesday, Nov. 8 in historic Lovett Auditorium. The Jazz Combo's program will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the Jazz Band and Jazz Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. The concerts are free and open to the public. Dr. Todd E. Hill, Professor of Music, is Director of Jazz Studies at Murray State, and directs all of the groups.

At 6 p.m., the Murray State Blue Jazz Combo will perform a collection of small group classics including "Manha de Carnaval" by Antonio Carlos Jobim, "All Blues" and "Freddie Freeloader" by Miles Davis, "Doxy" by Sonny Rollins, "West Coast Blues" and "Four on Six" by Wes Montgomery and the beautiful ballad "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square."  

At 7:30 p.m., the big bands will take the stage. The Murray State Jazz Band will perform a number of big band classics including a tribute to the first generation at Murray State, "The Charleston" and "Ballin' the Jack," Buddy Morrow's "Night Train," Bill Chase's "Get it On," a Cole Porter classic with a modern twist "What is This Thing Called Love," and John LaBarbera's "Tiger of San Pedro."

The Murray State Jazz Orchestra will close the program with a widely varied repertoire including Stevie Wonder's "Superstition," Bill Stegmeyer's "Eine Kleine Bluesmusik," "Makin' Whoopee," a bass trombone feature, Tito Puente's "Ran Kan Kan," Kid Ory's 1926 classic "Muskat Ramble," Count Basie's "Count Me In" and Chick Corea's "Spain."  

Under Hill's leadership, during the past seventeen years the Murray State Jazz Orchestra has produced five album releases, performed four times at the famed Elmhurst College Jazz Festival (garnering “Outstanding Big Band” along with a plethora of soloist awards) and the prestigious MidWest International Band Clinic. The Jazz Orchestra has performed at the Kentucky Music Educators Association Conference as a featured group for the state's music teachers five times since 2006.