The Brigham Young University School of Music's jazz band Synthesis hosts the BYU Jazz Festival featuring Grammy-nominated jazz band the Yellowjackets, trombonist Andy Martin, the faculty band Q'd Up and jazz vocalist Kelly Eisenhour Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.
Tickets are $9 with $3 off with a BYU or student ID. For tickets, call the Fine Arts Ticket Office at (801) 378-4322 or visit performances.byu.edu.
"This will be a wonderful weekend of jazz. You can't do better than the Yellowjackets and Q'd Up with Andy Martin and Kelly Eisenhour with their new album material. It has a real synergistic excitement," said Ray Smith, director of Synthesis.
Synthesis will perform at both concerts with Q'd Up, Kelly Eisenhour and Andy Martin on Friday and the Yellowjackets on Saturday.
"It's going to be a toe-tappin', can't-stop-smilin' night," Smith said.
Synthesis combines swing, blues, jazz, pop, Latin, funk and fusion styles into a feast of jazz entertainment. They perform every year at national and international jazz festivals, including the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Antibes Jazz Festival in France.
Eisenhour will also perform during the concert. She is currently an assistant professor in the BYU School of Music. She also directs the BYU Jazz Voices and Women's Vocal Jazz.
Martin is an acclaimed trombonist who has appeared with Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band and recorded for many major motion pictures including "Monster's Inc.," "Spiderman," "Planet of the Apes," "Armageddon" and "Enemy of the State."
With over 20 albums released, the Yellowjackets are one of the most acclaimed jazz quartets in the nation. For more than two decades, the Yellowjackets have explored jazz through the process of creating and recording music. Their most recent album, "Altered State," will be released March 25.
Students participating in the concert include Scott Elmer, Mike Tobian, Ryan Lillywhite, David Kjar, Chad Ostermiller, Alisha Ard, Adam Bean, Wayne Sandholtz, Dan Barrett, Jared Hearld, Dave Terran, Randy Lee, Anthony Phan, Brandon Farmer, Jay Butler, Kristen Bromley, Regan Brough and Andrew Tolman.
For more information contact Ray Smith at (801) 422-3391.
Writer: Rebekah Hanson
