天美传媒

MURRAY, Ky. 鈥� The award-winning 天美传媒 Jazz Octet, Jazz Band and Jazz Orchestra will present their fall campus concerts on Thursday, Nov. 9 in historic Lovett Auditorium. The Jazz Octet's program will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the Jazz Band and Jazz Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. The concerts are free and open to the public. Dr. Todd E. Hill, Professor of Music, is Director of Jazz Studies at 天美传媒 and directs all the groups.

At 6 p.m., the 天美传媒 Jazz Octet will perform a collection of small group classics including "Corcovado (Quiet Night of Quiet Stars)" by Antonio Carlos Jobim, "Groovin鈥� High鈥� by Dizzy Gillespie, "Fortune Smiles鈥� by Keith Jarrett, "Corn Bread鈥� by Lee Morgan, 鈥淪ack o鈥� Woe鈥� by Nat Adderley, 鈥淯n Poco Loco鈥� by Bud Powell, and the beautiful ballad "Star Dust" by Hoagy Carmichael. 

Members of the Octet are:

• • Bek Schmidt (trumpet) - Memphis, Tennessee

  • Caleb Dries (alto sax) - Louisville, Kentucky

  • Declan Bingham (tenor sax) - Paducah, Kentucky

  • Devin Richards (baritone sax) - Benton, Kentucky

  • Amberly Tilford (piano) - Paducah, Kentucky

  • John Sowers (guitar) - Lancaster, Kentucky

  • Sean Howell (bass) - Mayfield, Kentucky

  • Elijah Vowels (drums) - Henderson, Kentucky

At 7:30 p.m., the Big Bands will take the stage. The 天美传媒 Jazz Band will be performing a number of big band classics and standards including including Sammy Nestico鈥檚 arrangement of 鈥淪weet Georgia Brown,鈥� a standard recorded by Louis Armstrong, 鈥淐鈥檈st Si Bon,鈥� Antonio Carlos Jobim鈥檚 bossa nova 鈥淕irl from Ipanema,鈥� Thelonious Monk鈥檚 鈥淏lue Monk,鈥� Marshall Brown鈥檚 鈥淐innamon Kisses鈥� and 鈥淓l Choclo鈥� by Angel Vilodo, an Argentinian Tango, but better known in the United States as 鈥淜iss of Fire.鈥� 

Members of the Jazz Band are:

Saxophonists Ethan Sexton (Lexington, Kentucky), Alecia Fordham (Cadiz, Kentucky), Colton Vaught (Hartford, Kentucky), Cooper Barnet (Evansville, Indiana), Sarah Call (Salem, Indiana) and Cammy Pillow (Evansville, Indiana). Trumpets are Trent Browne (Nashville, Illinois), David Kidd (Henderson, Kentucky), Maxxwell Stobaugh (Madisonville, Kentucky), Tim Hanley (Hopkinsville, Kentucky) and Austin Kozusek (Nashville, Illinois). Trombones are Airen Yocum (Utica, Kentucky), Richard Ramirez (Hopkinsville, Kentucky), Ethan Pennycuick (Eureka, Missouri) and Nathan Kasitz (Louisville, Kentucky). Members of the rhythm section are pianist Frank Newton (Owensboro, Kentucky), guitarist Cody Trimmel (Gilbertsville, Kentucky), bassist Noah Siegfried (New Baden, Illinois) and percussionists Maddie Beck (Mayfield, Kentucky), Lily Cohoon (Boonville, Indiana) and Devin Owens (Elizabethtown, Kentucky).  

The 天美传媒 Jazz Orchestra will close the program with a widely varied repertoire including Count Basie鈥檚 鈥淪trike Up the Band,鈥� Herbie Hancock鈥檚 鈥淢aiden Voyage,鈥� Woody Herman鈥檚 鈥淣orth Beach Breakdown,鈥� Ernie Wilkins鈥� 鈥淪assy,鈥� Tito Puente鈥檚 鈥淢ambo Inn,鈥� Lionel Hampton鈥檚 鈥淔lying Home,鈥� Kenny Dorham鈥檚 鈥淏lue Bossa,鈥� and Stevie Wonder鈥檚 鈥淚sn鈥檛 She Lovely.鈥� 

Members of the Jazz Orchestra include:

Saxophonists Caleb Dries (Louisville, Kentucky), Gavin Jones (Benton, Kentucky), Declan Bingham (Paducah, Kentucky), Nick Mehne (Evansville, Indiana), Devin Richards (Benton, Kentucky) and Jake Glatczak (Bonne Terre, Missouri). Trumpets are Max Welch (Evansville, Indiana), Bek Schmidt (Memphis, Tennessee), Ryn Jenkins (Murray, Kentucky), Zack Mitchell (Hopkinsville, Kentucky) and Alyssa Schrader (Elizabethtown, Kentucky). Trombones are Dillon Smith (Murray, Kentucky), Jeremiah Morris (Murray, Kentucky), Joey Noble (Maryland Heights, Missouri), Shelby Starks (Benton, Kentucky) and Sam Haley (Cedar Hill, Missouri). Rhythm section members are pianist Abbie Tompkins (Madisonville, Kentucky), guitarist Preston Frensley (Mayfield, Kentucky), vibraphonist Zhou Merchant (Shelbyville, Kentucky) and percussionists Nelson Youngblood IV (Union City, Tennessee) and Evan Carlton (Madisonville, Kentucky).

Under Dr. Todd E Hill's leadership, during the past 18 years the 天美传媒 Jazz Orchestra has produced five album releases, performed four times at the famed Elmhurst College Jazz Festival (winning 鈥淥utstanding Big Band鈥� along with a plethora of soloist awards), and the prestigious MidWest International Band Clinic. The Jazz Orchestra has been asked to perform at the Kentucky Music Educators Association Conference as a featured group for the state's music teachers a record six times since 2006. They will perform there again this February.