FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (9/05)
Contact: Doug Rust, Jazz Band Director, 318-841-7326 or Lynn Stewart or Kelsey Johnson, Centenary News Service, 318-841-7265

Centenary Jazz Band Presents Cool Jazz Concert Series

Complete Hurley School of Music Fall Concert Schedule

SHREVEPORT, LA — The Centenary Jazz Band, under the direction of Dr. Doug Rust, will perform a series of four concerts featuring cool jazz music from the 1949-60 era. Musical selections featured in the various concerts will include original songs by Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan and others.

The Jazz Band's first performance will be at the Red River Revel Arts Festival on AmSouth Stage Thursday, Oct. 6 from noon-2 p.m. Admission is free.

On Friday and Saturday, Oct. 21 and 22, the Band will hold two concerts at Artspace in downtown Shreveport (710 Texas Street). Friday night's concert will be "West Coast Cool" featuring local singer Cheri Roberts, and Saturday night's concert will be"Cool Jazz & Poetry: The N.Y. Scene." Both concerts start at 7 p.m. and have a $5 cover fee.

Finally, the Band will give an on-campus concert called "The Birth of the Cool: Jazz Nonets & Octets of the 1950s" in Centenary's Kilpatrick Auditorium on Saturday, Nov. 12 from 7-9 p.m. No admission fee will be charged.

Cool jazz is a fusion of swing and bebop elements first explored by trumpet player Miles Davis in the late 1940s. Adopting the melodic flavor of swing and the rhythmic developments of bebop, cool jazz bridged the two styles in an experimental combination. Cool jazz was also heavily influenced by 20th century classical music, which is reflected in cool jazz composers' use of counterpoint and irregular meters.

For information on the concerts, contact Dr. Rust at 318- 841-7326 or drust@centenary.edu.

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