2003 Pitt Jazz Ensemble Concert to Feature Renowned Horn Players

PITTSBURGH—Two internationally renowned horn players—trombonist Curtis Fuller and trumpeter Jimmy Owens—will take the stage with the University of Pittsburgh Jazz Ensemble during its annual concert at 8 p.m. April 17, in the Assembly Room of the William Pitt Union (WPU), Oakland. Tickets, available at the WPU box office, are $10 for general admission and $5 for students and senior citizens. For additional information, call 412-624-4187.

Fuller and Owens, who have performed at Pitt in the past as part of the annual Pitt Jazz Seminar and Concert, will perform with local musicians and the student members of the Pitt Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Nathan Davis, director of Pitt's Jazz Studies Program.

Curtis Fuller, a native of Detroit, Mich., was a regular at New York City's Blue Note in the late 1950s and was a member of the famed Jazz Messengers from 1961-1965. He has performed with Miles Davis, Jimmy Smith, Bud Powell, John Coltrane, among many others, and continues to reach his audience on the road, on stage, or through his studio works.

Jimmy Owens studied composition with Henry Bryant and trumpet with Donald Byrd. Throughout the '60s, he played in the bands of Slide Hampton, Maynard Ferguson, Charlie Mingus, and Herbie Mann. During the '70s, he was in the trumpet section of Billy Taylor's band on The David Frost Show. Active in arts education, Owens participated in the Jazzmobile program Taylor founded in New York City. He has written extended pieces for the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, though the foundation of his music remains the blues.

Other musicians who will accompany Fuller and Owens include: James Johnson, piano; Mike Taylor, bass; Greg Humphries, drums; and Cecil Washington, Latin percussion.

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4/7/03kwh