An Instrument of Outreach

First Annual UGA/Athens Twilight Jazz Festival

originally published April 23, 2008

After over a year of planning, the First Annual UGA/Athens Twilight Jazz Festival, to be held Apr. 24–26, will unite UGA’s growing jazz program with local community musicians, a host of jazz educators and respected instrumental and vocal clinicians, and a culminating event featuring major recording artists Joshua Redman and Ilona Knopfler. In addition to being a weekend of entertainment fueled by education, event organizers are anticipating the festival to extend its musical boundaries to become “an instrument of outreach and service to the community and region.” Music on the Twilight Outdoor Stage will be available at no cost to the public, and will be centrally located on the 200 block of College Avenue.

The decision to hold the event in conjunction with the annual Twilight Criterium was a decisive maneuver made by event organizers to draw from one of Athens’ largest events - Twilight has brought in over one million spectators and athletes in its 29-year history of bicycle race competition. Yet, the idea to have a jazz festival during Twilight is not completely new, as this year’s event will see the revival of two of the city’s jazz festival traditions - combining the UGA Jazz Festival of Champions and the Athens Jazz Festival, the latter of which had been held in conjunction with the Twilight Criterium in previous years.

Music on the Twilight Stage will kick off this Friday at noon with the UGA Jazz Band under the direction of Steve Dancz, which was recently invited to perform in Beijing, China as part of a formal event to honor the country’s prosperous economic relations with the state of Georgia. After additional performances from a series of local and regional high school jazz ensembles, the evening will conclude with the All-Star Festival Band, featuring several of the weekend’s top clinicians from around the country, each well known in his/her area of musical expertise. Other performers in attendance will include UGA’s vocal and instrumental jazz combo, Classic City Jazz and Athens’ own hip and up-and-coming Jazzenigma, fronted by Melvin Mathurin. As part of the greater educational experience of the festival, all registered participants will receive a videotape of their performance, an audiotape with constructive comments, as well as an interactive feedback session with festival clinicians.

Along with opening act, French chanteuse Ilona Knopfler, The Joshua Redman Trio will headline the festival on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (unfortunately overlapping with the Men's race) in Hodgson Hall of the UGA Performing Arts Center. After nearly 10 years with Warner Bros. Records, bebop-inspired saxophonist Joshua Redman released his most recent two albums on Nonesuch Records, the latter of which, Back East (2007), was Grammy-nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, and is arguably his most assured release to date. Redman’s career was launched after having received First Place in the 1991 Thelonius Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, from which point he began forming collaborations with eminent performers along the way, ranging from Pat Metheny to Brad Mehldau.

Following the headlining event, festival participants and local musicians alike are welcome to bring their instruments to the Melting Point for a night of open improvisation with local Athens jazz veterans, Prime Time Jazz. Earlier the same day, festival participants will be encouraged to attend Redman and Knopfler’s instructive master classes, which will concentrate on instrumental and vocal techniques respectively. “Currently,” says festival co-director Mitos Andaya, “there is no other comparable jazz festival in the state of Georgia that combines the educational and community elements and is open to both vocal and instrumental groups.” It is this unifying element that organizers hope will resonate with local musicians, and in effect, strengthen the community at large in Athens.

This year’s festival is sponsored by the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music in conjunction with the Athens Twilight Criterium and the Melting Point/Foundry Park Inn & Spa, and was organized by UGA Associate Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Mitos Andaya, and UGA Percussion Coordinator, Dr. Thomas McCutchen. For more information about the UGA/Athens Twilight Jazz Festival as well as a detailed schedule of events, please visit: www.uga.edu/music/jazzfestival.

Ryan Monahan

Jazz Festival Schedule

Thursday, April 24

The Melting Point, $10

• 8:00 p.m. Kick-off performance with Squat

Friday, April 25

School of Music/UGA Performing Arts Center

for registered participants

• 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Clinics

Twilight Outdoor Stage, FREE!

200 block of College Avenue

• 12 p.m. UGA Jazz Band
• 1 p.m. Peachtree Ridge HS, Big Band
• 4 p.m. Chattahoochee HS Big Band
• 5 p.m. Blair Trio (Vanderbilt University)
• 6 p.m. Jackson County HS Jazz Cats
• 7 p.m. International Groove Conspiracy
• 8 p.m. All-Star Festival Clinician Band

The Melting Point, $10

• 9 p.m. Festival Jam Session with Prime Time Jazz as house band, open to all (bring instruments)

Saturday, April 26

Twilight Outdoor Stage, FREE!

200 block of College Avenue

• 10 a.m. Ware County HS Big Band
• 11 a.m. Jazzenigma
• 12 p.m. Chris Cassini Trio
• 1 p.m. Trey Wright Trio
• 2 p.m. Chris Enghauser's Super Combo
• 3 p.m. College of Charleston Combo
• 4 p.m. Mark Maxwell Quintet
• 5 p.m. Athens A-Train

The Melting Point, $10

• 9 p.m. Festival Jam Session with Prime Time Jazz as house band, open to all (bring instruments)

Hugh Hodgson School of Music

for registered participants

• 1:00 p.m. Joshua Redman, saxophone, master class
• 2:00 p.m. Ilona Knopfler, vocalist, master class
• 4:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony

UGA Performing Arts Center, $35

• 7:30 p.m. Ilona Knopfler, Joshua Redman Trio

Schedule subject to change.