Jazz ensembles to perform spring concert, host annual festival

The sounds of jazz music will fill the Northwest Missouri State University campus this month during a concert featuring University jazz ensembles and the Department of Fine and Performing Arts’ annual Northwest Jazz Festival with the Doug Talley Quartet.

All of the performances are free and open to the public.

Northwest’s Studio Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble perform a concert at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, in the Charles Johnson Theater at the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building. Conducted by Dr. William Richardson, a Northwest professor of music, the program will feature American music commemorating Black History Month.

“Our students have worked diligently to prepare some really sophisticated music at the beginning of the semester, and we are excited to play for students, faculty, staff, and the Maryville community,” Richardson said.

He added, “Our students are dedicated to pursuing excellence in jazz performance which is infectious audiences. The music is diverse, fun and celebrates multiple styles.”

The Northwest Jazz Ensemble, pictured during a concert last year, will perform Feb. 10 and Feb. 21 in the Charles Johnson Theater. (Photo by Lauren Adams/Northwest Missouri State University)

Then, Northwest hosts its annual Jazz Festival on Friday, Feb. 21, with more than 20 middle school and high school ensembles from Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri set to perform on the campus. The festival performances begin at 8 a.m. and continue throughout the day in the Charles Johnson Theater as well as the Mary Linn Auditorium at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts.

In addition to a performance by the Northwest Jazz Ensemble to close the festival at 5 p.m. in the Charles Johnson Theater, the Doug Talley Quartet will headline the festival by performing with the Northwest Jazz Ensemble at noon and leading a jazz improvisation clinic at 1 p.m.

Formed in 1995, the Doug Talley Quartet has performed at a variety of festivals, concerts, clubs and schools throughout the Midwest. All four members of the quartet compose and arrange music, and contribute to the group’s repertoire for recordings and live appearances.

Talley, a saxophonist, has performed with numerous jazz luminaries and is a familiar face throughout the Midwest as a jazz performer and educator. His discography includes four recordings on the Sea Breeze label for the Trilogy and Boulevard Big Bands as well as the Doug Talley Quartet’s four CDs, “Town Topic,” “Night and Day,” “Kansas City Suite” and “By Request,” which offers the ensemble’s most requested music.

A schedule of middle school and high school ensembles and jazz combos performing at the Northwest Jazz Festival is provided below. Funding support for the Northwest Jazz Festival is provided by the University’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts and the Missouri Arts Council.