Alcorn State University’s Department of Fine Arts announces its 43rd Annual Jazz Festival, featuring NEA jazz master and legendary drummer Louis Hayes along with his quintet. The festival will take place at two locations — beginning with a masterclass for jazz students and the public on April 24, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. in the Little Theater of the Joyce J. Bolden Fine Arts Building in Lorman, and the jazz clinic and concert on April 26, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. at the Vicksburg Convention Center in Vicksburg.

All events are free and open to the public.

Hayes will be joined by a powerhouse lineup of musicians, including Steve Nelson on vibraphone, Abraham Burton on tenor saxophone, David Hazeltine on piano, and Gerald Cannon on bass.

“We are thrilled to welcome everyone to the 43rd Annual Alcorn State University Jazz Festival, the oldest continuously running jazz festival in Mississippi,” Dr. Sean Daniels, Jazz Festival director and chair of Fine Arts at Alcorn State. “This year’s festival features the legendary 2023 NEA Jazz Legend Award Recipient Louis Hayes and his quintet, continuing our tradition of showcasing world-renowned talent alongside outstanding student musicians from high schools, community colleges, and universities across the nation. The legacy established by Dr. Russel Thomas and furthered by Dr. David Miller for over three decades lives on in this celebration of America’s original art form.”

Previous festivals have featured renowned artists such as Delfeayo Marsalis, the Kirk Whalum Quintet, the Branford Marsalis Quartet, and the Joe Lovano Quartet featuring Esperanza Spalding.

About the Featured Artists:

Louis Hayes, NEA jazz master and bandleader, began his career in Detroit, performing with Yusef Lateef, Kenny Burrell, and Doug Watkins before joining the Horace Silver Quintet. He has performed with jazz legends including Cannonball Adderley and Oscar Peterson, and has received numerous honors throughout his illustrious career.

Steve Nelson, vibraphonist with a five-decade career, began in Pittsburgh before obtaining his master’s in jazz studies from Rutgers University. His debut recording was on “James Spaulding Plays the Legacy of Duke Ellington.”

Abraham Burton, world-renowned saxophonist and educator, was raised in Greenwich Village. A graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & the Performing Arts, Burton has been mentored by jazz greats including Wynton Marsalis and Max Roach. He currently teaches at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz and Rutgers University.

David Hazeltine, one of the most recorded contemporary jazz pianists, began playing clubs in his native Milwaukee as a preteen. Encouraged by Sonny Stitt and Chet Baker, he moved to New York in 1992. A former associate professor at Berklee, he currently teaches at SUNY-Purchase.

Gerald Cannon, bassist born in Racine, Wisconsin, studied at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. He currently serves as the jazz bass instructor at The Juilliard School and associate professor of jazz bass at Oberlin College & Conservatory.

The 43rd Annual Jazz Festival is made possible through the support of the Mississippi Arts Commission, Art Works, National Endowment for the Arts, Vicksburg Convention Center, South Arts, and the City of Vicksburg.

For more information, please contact the Department of Fine Arts at 601.877.6269.