Jazz so hot it’s cool at 2009 Purdue Jazz Festival

High powered jazz talent ranging from the legendary Mingus Big Band to Chicago’s prominent Ryan Cohan Quartet, and from Allen Vizzutti on trumpet to Gary Smulyan on baritone saxophone, the 19th annual Purdue Jazz Festival, Jan. 14-18 offers an exciting mix of traditional and contemporary jazz.

Headliner concerts, jazz jams, and a competition for high school and middle school big bands tops the slate of activities that also includes jazz clinics, a Sunday jazz service at University Church and a swing dance at Jefferson High School. more...

Naptown Jazz 5 explores Indiana jazz history

The most unique offering at the 2009 Purdue Jazz Festival is a performance by the Naptown Jazz 5, a group dedicated to exploring and presenting Indiana’s jazz history. They will perform at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, in the Anniversary Drawing Room of the Purdue Union.

Led by trumpeter Steve Robinett, director of jazz studies at Wabash and St. Joseph’s colleges and a frequent adjudicator for the Purdue Jazz Festival’s annual competition, the group looks at Indiana history through the lens of its jazz. more...

'Evening of Romance' offers a big band valentine on Feb. 14

Tickets go on sale Jan. 5, 2009, for the Purdue Jazz Band’s ninth annual “Evening of Romance” which will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Saturday, Feb. 14, at University Plaza (formerly University Inn) in West Lafayette.

The cabaret-style event which recreates the atmosphere of big band dance clubs of the 1940s - where couples came to enjoy music, dancing, food and each other’s company - offers seating at candlelit tables surrounding the dance floor. more...

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