The Gustavus Jazz Lab Band, under the direction of Steve Wright, has been invited to participate at the prestigious Notre Dame Jazz Festival in South Bend, Indiana, March 3-5. The Notre Dame Festival is the oldest collegiate jazz festival in the United States and each year bands across North America audition to perform. For the first time, the Gustavus Jazz Lab Band has been invited to participate in the festival and will perform at 9:15 p.m., in Washington Hall on Friday, March 4, 2011. The band’s performance will be followed by a performance by the 2011 judge/clinicians, The Clayton Brothers Jazz Quintet.
This honor adds to a number of accomplishments by the ensemble in recent years, including performances at jazz festivals in the Twin Cities; a concert tour in 2010 to New York City and Washington, D.C.; a live appearance on A Prairie Home Companion broadcast from Gustavus; and a number of top three finishes at the Eau Claire Jazz Festival.
In addition to the performance on March 4, the jazz band will be critiqued international jazz recording artists The Clayton Brothers Jazz Quintet and have the opportunity to hear performances of other jazz ensembles from colleges and universities across the United States and Canada.
One of the hallmarks of the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival is its noncompetitive status, focusing on learning and not rankings. The judges will hear the performances and provide feedback for each group. They will also select outstanding musicians from each ensemble. Clinics by all the judges—with musical performances and a question and answer session—are open to all the performers and interested fans.
Tickets for the Notre Dame Jazz Festival may be purchased for the Friday and Saturday night sessions. Tickets are $5/one session, or $8/both sessions and are available at the LaFortune Box Office at (574) 631-8128, and at the door of Washington Hall if available the night of the performance.
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