INFORMATION FOR
A concert celebrating the music and career of the legendary trumpeter Art Farmer, and dedicating his newly donated Art Farmer Archive at William Paterson University in Wayne, will take place on Sunday, October 24, 2021 at 4 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on campus as part of William Paterson’s Jazz Room series.
Farmer’s collection is now a part of William Paterson’s Living Jazz Archives after being donated to the University in 2019 by Lynne Mueller, longtime jazz producer and companion/manager of Art Farmer during the last years of his life. This concert will include music from Farmer’s actual touring band books taken from the Archive, celebrating the great musician and collection at the highest musical level.
The special tribute will feature a quintet made up of veterans of Farmer’s last touring and recording groups, including pianist and WP jazz adjunct faculty member Geoffrey Keezer, saxophonist Ron Blake, bassist Kenny Davis, drummer Yoron Israel, and, performing in the trumpet chair, the highly respected Jeremy Pelt, also a WP adjunct faculty member.
The concert will be preceded by “Sittin’ In,” the Jazz Room’s accompanying “meet the artist” concert preview, which will feature interviews with the band members about their recollections of touring with Farmer. This informal discussion, free to all Jazz Room ticket-holders, begins at 3 p.m., one hour prior to the concert, in the Shea 101 Recital Hall.
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, Art Farmer, 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.
Ticket sales benefit the William Paterson Living Jazz Archives. Tickets are $15 for the general public, $12 for WP faculty, staff, alumni, and senior citizens, $8 for non-WP students, and WP students are admitted free. Tickets are an additional $3 if purchased on show day. For tickets, visit wp-presents.org, or contact the box office at 973.720.2371 or boxoffice@wpunj.edu.
The Jazz Room Series 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.
For information, call the Shea Center for Performing Arts Box Office at 973-720-2371 or visit wp-presents.org.
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