TCU Announces 42nd Annual Jazz Festival Featuring Duffy Jackson

One of the Southwest's largest jazz festivals will return to Texas Christian University March 22-23, 2019, for its 42nd year, featuring legendary American jazz drummer Duffy Jackson to the exciting theme, "Tribute to the music of Count Basie and Buddy Rich." The 2019 TCU Jazz Festival will host more than 700 middle and high school students at Ed Landreth Auditorium and PepsiCo Recital Hall during the annual competition, encompassing two days of performances from some of the most highly-regarded names in jazz, TCU ensembles and young artists from across the state.

Audiences are invited to experience the sounds of Jackson's performance as a special guest during the first concert of the annual event on Friday evening. TCU School of Music's faculty will perform alongside the man who Count Basie once regarded as the "Jazz Wunderkind" during the highly-anticipated, annual faculty concert. Saturday morning will launch the competition portion of the festival, where students from more than 30 jazz ensembles will showcase their talent and compete for an array of awards to an audience comprised of a adjudicators, festival attendees and Jackson himself.

TCU students and attending competition members can participate in a lively, informative performance clinic with Jackson at noon on Saturday. The workshop? will feature a Q&A with Jackson, during which he will answer student questions ranging in topics from career and music to big band jazz performance. Saturday evening, jazz-enthusiasts and music-lovers can attend a concert featuring TCU's Jazz Ensembles side-by-side Jackson. The 42nd Jazz Festival will conclude with an awards ceremony, with a variety of accolades, including Outstanding Soloist(s) of the Day -- which grants the prize of free tuition to the TCU Band Camp and Leadership Experience in June 2019.

Honoring TCU's mission to provide students with career preparation and real-world experience, the School Of Music and Jazz Studies' faculty aim to perpetuate each genre through quality education, facilitating opportunity for well-rounded and versatile portfolios. Each year, the festival features an artist who specializes in a different instrument -- ensuring that future generations receive quality, multi-faceted exposure to this American art form. Launched in 1978, the ensembles at the TCU Jazz Festival have appeared in concert with notable international jazz artists such as John Fedchock, Joey DeFrancesco, Paquito D'Rivera, Peter Erskine, Randy Brecker, Hank Levy and more.

This year's special guest received a personal invitation from Director of Jazz Studies Joe Eckert, whose experience as an Airman Of Note in the Air Force Jazz Ensemble led to many performances with the industry's top talent. Eckert and Jackson performed together in 2004 and will reunite for the first time since to perform in the faculty concert during the 42nd TCU Jazz Festival.

Eckert said, "Duffy Jackson will bring a new level of excitement and energy to the TCU Jazz Festival. He is a joy to watch and work with and as he likes to say, his mission is 'to put the grin on the groove!' We're excited to have him here as our guest artist for the 42nd annual festival."

The annual TCU Jazz Festival has become one of the most prestigious festivals in the state, connecting high school and middle school jazz ensembles with guest artists and TCU's jazz faculty. Since its inception in 1978, the event has attracted more than 20,000 talented high school players. In addition, bands have attended the TCU Jazz Festival from as far away as Oklahoma, Tennessee, Iowa and Hawaii.

The TCU Jazz Ensembles have appeared in concert with such notable international jazz artists as John Fedchock, Joey DeFrancesco, Paquito D'Rivera, Peter Erskine, Randy Brecker, Hank Levy, Don Menza, Urbie Green, Mike Vax, Ed Shaughnessy, Pete Christlieb, Ashley Alexander, Frank Mantooth, Roger Pemberton, Roy Hargrove, Willie Thomas, Carl Fontana, Jon Faddis, Shelton Berg, Rich Matteson, Leon Breeden, Patrick Williams, Marvin Stamm, Onzie Matthews, Louis Bellson, Clark Terry, Terry Bozzio, Will Calhoun, Dom Famulara, Chester Thompson, Tony Campisi, Peanuts Hucko, the Hal Galper Trio, Chris Vadala, Conte Candoli, Vince DiMartino, Bill Watrous, Dave Pietro, Allen Vizzutti, Carl Saunders, Wayne Bergeron, Andy Martin, Joe Eckert, SMSGT Joe Jackson, The Four Freshmen, Howard Johnson, Morris Repass, Mario Cruz and Alex Iles.

The TCU School of Music is a nationally recognized, award-winning institution that features a distinguished, renowned faculty and a talented, energetic student body. The school offers an exciting musical environment in which students grow as artists, educators and individuals, and provides many opportunities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, TCU's program provides professional training for performers, teachers, scholars and composers.

Duffy Jackson is the son of Chubby Jackson, and played drums as a young child, making appearances with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, and Buddy Rich before he finished high school. In 1971 he relocated to Los Angeles, where he played with Monty Alexander, Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Lena Horne, Milt Jackson and Barney Kessel. Following a tour of Japan with Benny Carter, he appeared on television for two years with Sammy Davis, Jr. (1974-1976). Later in the 1970s he played with Grover Mitchell and did a tour of Europe with the Count Basie Orchestra. In the 1980s Jackson worked with Lionel Hampton, Al Jarreau, James Moody and Sonny Stitt; in 1985, re-joined the Basie orchestra while Thad Jones was its leader. Following this he worked with Illinois Jacquet and Artie Shaw, then re-joined the Basie Orchestra under Frank Foster. In the 1990s, he relocated to Fort Lauderdale, where he played with Harry Allen, Billy Ross, and the Manhattan Transfer.

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