The anticipated finale for Alcorn State University’s annual jazz showcase is slated for this weekend.
The 41st Alcorn State University Jazz Festival finale will be held Saturday, April 15, at the Vicksburg Convention Center. The all-day event will feature morning performances by high school jazz ensembles and afternoon performances by college and university jazz ensembles from around the country. The event is free and open to the public.
The Randy Brecker Quintet will host a workshop at 3:30 p.m. Randy Becker is a Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter and composer and has helped shape the sound of jazz, R&B, and rock for more than four decades. His extensive resume includes performances with Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Elton John, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, and many more. Brecker’s full body of work can be seen on his website.
Following the workshop is the Mississippi Jazz Educators Concert at 7 p.m. The Randy Brecker Quintet will conclude the evening with a concert at 8 p.m.
David Miller, Jazz Festival director and professor of music at Alcorn, is proud of the yearly event and how much it’s grown.
“In many ways, the festival has been my life’s work in addition to my responsibilities as a professor of music at Alcorn and performing around the world,” said Miller. “Over the years, the festival has become the region’s premier jazz event that has included performances by many of the greatest performers and innovators in jazz history. The festival continues to bring the best in jazz to Mississippi free of charge.”
