Faddis to perform with Duke Jazz Ensemble

It’s been a big year for the Duke Jazz Ensemble. They collaborated with Duke Swing Dance Club and Jazz@ to present “A Night of Swing,” which was so successful that it seems bound to become a yearly event. This Friday the group will be joined by one of the world’s most acclaimed trumpet players, Jon Faddis, for the Alumni Weekend Concert on Apr. 12 in Page Auditorium.

Faddis has performed extensively with some of jazz’s greats. He led the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars and served as artistic director for the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Since 2010, he has led the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra of New York. He’s also celebrated as a music educator for jazz and trumpet and teaches at The Conservatory of Music at Purchase College-SUNY.

It’s not the first time that the Jazz Ensemble has performed with renowned guests: past performances have included the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. John Brown, associate professor of music and director of the Duke jazz program, explained that by bringing in a high-profile guest artist Duke’s jazz program is distinguished apart from others in the nation. Students will have a rare window into what Faddis has learned as well as an opportunity to perform beside the lead trumpet player who Brown hails as “one of the best ever.”

The Jazz Ensemble has performed over Alumni Weekend ever since Brown came to Duke. “It’s an opportunity for students to share what they have learned,” Brown said, “and [to share] what they have worked on to a receptive audience.”

In general guest artists arrive for a minimum of three days for what Brown calls a “mini residency,” which allows students real time with the artist. A couple months prior, the guest artist sends a body of music from which Brown and the artist will later select pieces to perform. When choosing, Brown and Faddis will focus their efforts to accommodate and showcase the band and its capabilities while also determining what they desire for the overall feel of the performance.

“With Brown, you’re not only being taught by a top educator and musician, but by someone who’s regarded by people in the music world not only as an associate but as a friend,” said Bradford Ellison, first-year student and trombonist. Brown has also brought many talented musicians to work with his students. Ellison recalled that at his first concert at Duke he performed alongside Wycliffe Gordon who, Ellison said, has been regarded over the past decade as “the best trombonist in the world.” Ellison explains that jazz was one of the reasons he chose to attend Duke, and he notes the ensemble as another example of Duke’s undergraduate resources.

Cameron Thompkins, a senior music major and tenor saxophonist for the ensemble, has equally positive thoughts about Duke’s jazz scene. “While Duke may comparatively be the ‘small pond,’ the staff and alumni are doing great things in their fields…The resources at our disposal are fantastic. Among those is the ability to bring jazz legends such as Jon Faddis.” He explained that the professors in the music department challenge him “to explore the way that jazz operates inside contemporary music,” and that they’ve also exposed him to “the many types of music, composers, genres and forms that contribute to [his] ‘musical identity.’”

In Durham and at Duke, jazz expands with each passing year. This year students have had ample opportunities to experience music performed by fellow students, faculty and prominent touring artists. Such performances vary from Wednesday sessions at the Mary Lou to new jazz concert series organized by Duke Performances and held at downtown venues such as Casbah and Motorco.