Chick Corea to be featured band at Alcorn's 38th annual Jazz Festival
The 38th Annual Alcorn State University Jazz Festival featuring Chick Corea will be held Saturday, April 14 at the Vicksburg Convention Center. The times for the performances are scheduled for 9:30 a.m.-3:20 p.m., High School and University Jazz Ensembles; 4 -5 p.m., Chick Corea Workshop; 7-7:45 p.m., Mississippi Jazz Educators; 8 p.m., Chick Corea in concert. All events are free and open to the public.
For nearly four decades the Department of Fine Arts at Alcorn State University has sponsored what has become Mississippi's longest-running and most prestigious jazz festival. The daylong celebration features performances by some of the most outstanding professional jazz musicians and university, college and secondary school jazz ensembles from throughout the United States. Highlights of the festival are the afternoon workshops and evening concerts by some of the world's greatest jazz artists. Dr. David Miller directs the Festival.
Chick has the eighth most awards in Grammy history, a distinction he shares with U2 and Beyonce. The number and breadth of awards that Chick has received through the years almost defy reason, including those from dozens of magazines to those from states and countries around the world. Chick has performed and recorded with numerous jazz greats, and famous performers over the past fifty plus years, including Stan Getz, Miles Davis, Hiromi, Bela Fleck, Herbie Hancock, Gary Burton and Bobby McFerrin. He has led numerous cutting-edge groups through the years that featured some of the most outstanding musicians of our time, often achieving considerable commercial success with groups like "Return to Forever" and the "Chick Corea Elektric Band." From his early days as an innovator in jazz fusion, he has remained one of the most important and influential piano voices in jazz, and beyond.
The Annual Alcorn State University Jazz Festival is a masterpiece rich in tradition and talent. Jazz masters like Clark Terry, Max Roach, Slide Hampton, Maynard Ferguson, Freddie Hubbard, Louie Bellson, Donald Byrd, Branford Marsalis, Stanley Turrentine, McCoy Tyner, Ramsey Lewis and Arturo Sandoval have graced the stage of this free event throughout its history, establishing the ASU Jazz Festival as a premier jazz event in the region.
The Annual Alcorn State University Jazz Festival is funded in part by grants from the Mississippi Arts Commission, South Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works.
