INFORMATION FOR
William Paterson University’s fall 2020 Jazz Room at Home series pays tribute to the iconic trumpeter and educator Clark Terry, who would have turned 100 years old this December, with a concert broadcast online on Sunday, November 8 at 4 p.m. featuring an all-star gathering of musicians from Terry’s bands and the William Paterson faculty.
The Jazz Room, now in its 43rd season, is virtual for fall 2020. Recorded live in Shea Center on campus, the performance will be broadcast online. Jazz fans can enjoy world-class jazz from the comfort of their home by viewing each concert on their computer, tablet, smart TV, or phone.
Terry, who died in 2015, taught for several years at William Paterson and chose the University as the site for the Clark Terry Archive. He was a longtime member of both the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands, and was the first African American on nightly TV as a featured member of the NBC Tonight Show Band from 1960 to 1970. He is also considered one of the true founders of jazz education; starting in the 1970s, he travelled tirelessly, appearing in concert with dozens of high school and college groups every year, spreading the word about jazz, improvisation, and the level of art that is attainable through hard work and focus.
In honor of his 100th birthday, the concert will feature Terry’s original compositions, music from his quintet with Bob Brookmeyer, and jazz and popular standards loved by Terry, including works by Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. Performers include Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; Vincent Herring, alto saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Anthony Wonsey, piano; Marcus McLaurine, bass; and Willie Jones III, drums.
Photos, music manuscripts and other materials from the Clark Terry Archive will be showcased in a slideshow as part of the performance.
William Paterson University’s Jazz Room series is the longest-running program of its kind in the United States. Launched in 1978, the Jazz Room has welcomed more than 500 jazz legends to the stage, including Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Joe Williams, Marian McPartland, Slide Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett, Clark Terry, Michael and Randy Brecker, the Vanguard Orchestra, and more. Concerts have encompassed the entire spectrum of jazz, from early jazz and swing to avant garde, and from intimate solo performances to big bands. The performance series provides support for the University’s internationally renowned Jazz Studies Program, founded in 1973, which draws students from across the United States and abroad under the current direction of pianist Bill Charlap.
The concert will be preceded by “Sittin’ In,” the Jazz Room’s accompanying “meet the artist” concert preview featuring interviews with jazz artists and guest speakers. This informal discussion, free to all Jazz Room ticketholders, begins at 3 p.m., one hour prior to each concert, and will be broadcast on the WP Presents! You Tube channel. Subscribe to the channel here. Submit questions in advance to: jazzroom@wpunj.edu.
Tickets are available at wp-presents.org. Ticket prices are “pay what you want” at $25, $20, $15 and $10 for the public, $8 for non-William Paterson students and the William Paterson community, and free to William Paterson students via a weekly code emailed by faculty. Tickets must be purchased in advance. For additional information, call the Shea Center for Performing Arts Box Office at 973-720-2371 or visit wp-presents.org.
The Jazz Room at William Paterson University has been made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts: Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
