William Paterson University’s Living Jazz Archives to be Featured in Lecture and Performance on December 2 --David Demsey, coordinator of the University’s internationally acclaimed Jazz Studies Program, to discuss the archives’ collections of works by Thad Jones, Clark Terry, and James Williams, accompanied by a student trio David Demsey The Living Jazz Archives at William Paterson University, which houses the collections of Thad Jones, Clark Terry, and James Williams, three of the jazz world’s iconic performers, will be the subject of a lecture by David Demsey, coordinator of the University’s acclaimed Jazz Studies Program, on Sunday, December 2 at 2 p.m. in the Cheng Library Auditorium on the William Paterson campus in Wayne. Admission is free. The lecture is sponsored by the University’s Friends of the Cheng Library. The program, titled “Thad Jones, Clark Terry, and James Williams: The Living Jazz Archives in Word, Performance, and Photographs,” will explore the archives of Thad Jones, founding director of the University’s Jazz Studies Program; Clark Terry, legendary trumpeter and long-standing jazz faculty member; and James Williams, the late pianist, music educator, and director of the University’s Jazz Studies Program from 1999 until his untimely death in 2004. The collection features annotated scores of these and other composer-performers as well as recordings and a copious visual archive of photographs and posters. Demsey will bring these scores to new life, and talk about their significance for jazz history and jazz listening, providing insight into the unique contributions of each of these artists. Accompanied by a trio of students from the jazz program, Demsey will illustrate how each of these composer-performers has contributed to the richness of jazz as an idiom in the context of American culture. An accomplished saxophonist who is comfortable with jazz ensembles, classical music (he is performing with the Metropolitan Opera this fall in Puccini’s “Turandot”), or playing the National Anthem at baseball games, Demsey curates the Living Jazz Archives while teaching numerous individual classes and coordinating the jazz program. Adding to the historical dimension of the presentation, part of the pictorial heritage of the jazz program at William Paterson University will be represented through the availability, for a modest donation, of JoAnn Krivin’s Jazz Studies, a recently published book of black-and-white portraits of performers on the Jazz Room stage—literally. The wife of Marty Krivin, the founder of the Jazz Room Series, JoAnn Krivin documented and celebrated the first thirty years of its long and continuing run. Proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the Martin and JoAnn Krivin Scholarship Fund and students at William Paterson University. William Paterson University is celebrating two major milestones in the history of jazz education on campus during the 2012-13 academic year: the 40th anniversary of the University’s internationally renowned Jazz Studies Program, and the 35th anniversary of its related performance series, The Jazz Room. Founded in 1973 by the late music professor Martin Krivin, the Jazz Studies Program was one of the first degree programs in jazz studies in the nation, offering a unique emphasis on small group playing and improvisation. In conjunction with the program, in 1978 the University launched the popular Jazz Room Series. The Sunday afternoon concert series, one of the largest and most prestigious college-sponsored jazz events in the country, has drawn a virtual who’s who of the jazz world to the Shea Center stage For additional information, call the Cheng Library at 973-720-2113 or visit the Friends of the Library webpage at www.wpunj.edu/friends. # # #
