Trumpet Virtuoso Marvin Stamm to Headline Jazz Festival

Trumpeter Marvin Stamm - a big band soloist, first-call studio musician, recording artist and an internationally active music educator - will be the guest artist at the annual ISU Jazz Festival March 19 and 20 at Illinois State University.

The festival will feature two 8 p.m. concerts featuring Stamm and the ISU Jazz Ensembles. Numerous high school and junior high jazz bands will perform during the festival, and there will be master classes and performances by Stamm. All are free.

Admission to the evening concerts is $10 for the general public, $8 for faculty-staff and $7 for students and senior citizens. Tickets are available at the Center for the Performing Arts box office on campus, or by calling (309) 438-2535. They also are available at Ticketmaster.com

Stamm's illustrious career includes work with the bands of Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Duke Pearson, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman and others. He was discovered by Kenton while attending North Texas State University and performed with the Kenton orchestra, recording five albums with them. He toured worldwide with Woody Herman, then moved to New York City and spent the next 20-plus years as a jazz and studio trumpeter.

Stamm was involved in three recordings released in 2007: "Alone Together," a DVD/CD set featuring his quartet with pianist Bill Mays, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Ed Soph; "Fantasy," the first recording by Stamm and his latest group, the Inventions Trio; and "The Nearness of Two," a duo performance of Stamm and pianist/vocalist Dena DeRose, recorded live at the Ancona Jazz Festival in Ancona, Italy. In September 2008, the Inventions Trio released its second CD, "The Delaware River Suite."

Consciously acknowledging his debt to the influence and guidance of former teachers and fellow musicians, Stamm also commits a good deal of his time and energies to helping young music students develop their own voices. His involvement in jazz education takes him to universities and high schools across the U.S. and abroad as a performer, clinician and mentor, perpetuating the traditions of excitement and innovation that jazz represents.

For more information contact Tom Marko at (309) 438-2541 or tjmarko@ilstu.edu

FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, March 19

1:30PM Hickory Creek MS Concert Jazz, Frankfort, IL

2:00 Hickory Creek MS Lab Jazz, Frankfort, IL

2:30 Paxton/Buckley/Loda Jr. High II, Paxton, IL

3:00 Dwight D. Eisenhower High School, Blue Island, IL

3:30 Normal Community High School, Normal, IL

4:00 Paxton/Buckley/Loda Jr. High I, Paxton, IL

4:30 Marvin Stamm Masterclass

5:30 ISU Combo I w/Marvin Stamm

6:00 Metamora Township High School, Metamora, IL

6:30 Paxton/Buckley/Loda High School, Paxton, IL

8:00 Concert: 1) ISU Jazz Ensemble II 2) ISU Jazz Ensemble I w/ Marvin Stamm

SATURDAY, March 20

10:30AM Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School, Harvey, IL

11:00 Jacksonville High School, Jacksonville, IL

11:30 Morton Jr. High, Morton, IL

12:00PM Indian Trail Jr High, Addison, IL

12:30 Eisenhower High School Combo, Decatur, IL

1:00 Westmont High School, Westmont, IL

1:30 Kettle Moraine High School II, Wales, WI

2:00 Marvin Stamm Masterclass

2:30 ISU Jazz Combo I w/ Marvin Stamm

3:30 Hillcrest High School, Country Club Hills, IL

4:00 Muskegon Heights Jr. High, Muskegon Heights, MI

4:30 Kettle Moraine High School, Wales, WI

5:00 Downer's Grove South High School, Downer's Grove, IL

5:30 Muskegon Heights High School, Muskegon Heights, MI

6:00 ISU Jazz Ensemble I

6:30 Awards Presentations

8:00 CONCERT: 1) Grand Champion 2) Marvin Stamm w/ ISU Jazz Ensemble I