The music of Los Angeles-based jazz composers as well as jazz legends like Miles Davis will be featured when the Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’ Aces at Stephen F. Austin State University perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
Pieces by John Clayton, Tom Kubis and multi-Grammy nominated composer Gordon Goodwin will be among the music performed by the Swingin’ Axes, directed by Gary Wurtz, professor of trumpet and jazz studies at SFA.
“Because of the influence of the Hollywood recording industry, L.A. is the home to some of the best all-around musicians in the world,” Wurtz said. “With access to such a high level of talent, these gifted composers can comfortably write almost anything they want, knowing the local musicians are up to the challenge. For that reason, some of the most cutting-edge music comes to us out of the L.A. scene.”
Goodwin’s “The Phat Pack,” “Horn of Puente,” “Backrow Politics” and “Hunting Wabbits” are on the Swingin’ Axes’ program, along with “Samba Dees Gotta Do It” by Kubis and Clayton’s “I Be Serious ‘Bout Dem Blues.”
The Swingin’ Aces, directed by Deb Scott, professor of trombone and jazz studies at SFA, will perform Nightowl Suite, Movement 1 by Mike Tomaro, “Freddie Freeloader” by Miles Davis, “Caravan” by John Tizol and arranged by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band/Wynton Marsalis, and “After You’ve Gone” by Turner Layton and arranged by Mark Taylor. Also on the Swingin’ Aces’ program is “Tank” (opening theme to “Cowboy Bebop”) by Yoko Kanno and arranged by Eric Dannewitz.
“The Aces are performing a wide variety of jazz styles,” Scott said, “including the fun Latin Dirty Dozen Brass Band sound of ‘Caravan,’ which features the bass line on tuba performed by freshman science major Aarron DeLuca from Kaufman. Senior music major from The Colony Josh Reyna, on alto saxophone, will be featured on the exciting swing theme, ‘Tank.’”
The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.
