Pitt Jazz Ensemble to Hold Annual Spring Concert March 29

PITTSBURGH—The Pitt Jazz Ensemble—a University of Pittsburgh student ensemble of 27 musicians—will hold its annual spring concert at 8 p.m. March 29 in the Assembly Room of the William Pitt Union (WPU), 3959 Fifth Ave., Oakland. 

Larry Coryell, one of jazz guitar’s masters, will appear as a special guest. Other performers will include local jazz musicians Cecil Washington, Latin drums; Jeff Grubbs, bass; Craig Davis, piano; and Roger Humphries, drums. 

Concert tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for students and are available at the WPU box office or at the door the night of the concert. For more information, call 412-624-4187. 

Coryell has been called “a true pioneer of rock-jazz fusion” by the New York Times. In early sessions with Jimmy Webb, The Fifth Dimension, Charlie Mingus, and many others, Coryell merged rock, jazz, Eastern modes, and free-form improvisation. His band Eleventh House, which he formed in 1974, became the most successful fusion band of its era. After it disbanded, Clive Davis at Arista Records signed Coryell for a number of solo albums. He has recorded more than 75 albums with a wide range of artists, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. He is a regular headliner at the Blue Note in New York City and a frequent performer at clubs and large festivals worldwide. Coryell has been featured at the annual Pitt Jazz Seminar and Concert numerous times and was presented with the Pitt Jazz Seminar Committee Award in 2008 for his contributions to jazz. 

The Pitt Jazz Ensemble will perform under the direction of Leon Lee Dorsey, associate professor of jazz performance at Pitt and coordinator of the Pitt Jazz Studies Program. The ensemble has played at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and has toured the American South and Trinidad. Since 1990, the ensemble annually spends two weeks in residence in Jamaica, touring area schools and performing at community festivals. 

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3/24/11/tmw/lks