Navy Jazz Band to Perform at UM Ford Center for the Performing Arts
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi family is set to honor student and local veterans Monday (Nov. 5) with a series of events, including a 90-minute performance by the U.S. Navy Commodores Jazz Band.
The Commodores, the premier jazz ensemble of the U.S. Navy and “one of the finest jazz ensembles in the world” according to the New York Times, will perform a free concert at 7 p.m. in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available by visiting the UM Box Office in the Student Union, or by calling the box office at 662-915-7411. Additionally, the concert will broadcast live on Mississippi Public Broadcast Music Radio and may be heard on a digital radio receiver or at http://www.MPBonline.org.
It is an honor to recognize veterans for their “dedicated and loyal service to the country,” UM Dean of Students Sparky Reardon said.
“I personally want to do a little more than say ‘thank you’ to our student and local veterans,” Reardon said. “I want to shake the hands of these honorable and dedicated Americans and let them know I am so proud of their service to the country and the world. Mere words cannot and will not express my deepest appreciation for what our veterans do to keep our great nation safe.”
Veterans will be recognized during the concert, with a special welcome from Brandi Hephner LaBanc, UM vice chancellor of student affairs.
Before the concert, the Office of the Dean of Students will host a 6 p.m. reception in honor of veterans in the Ford Center rehearsal hall. The reception, which is also free and open to the public,
gives faculty, staff and students another chance to “express our appreciation and formally recognize those who have served and defended our freedom,” LaBanc said.
“I believe it is never too late to give our veterans a well-deserved hero’s welcome and that’s exactly what we plan to do,” she said. “If their mission is to serve our country, then it’s our mission to say ‘job well done’ at every given opportunity. Ole Miss is proud of the veterans in our family.”
And, at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday (Nov. 6), the trombone section of the jazz ensemble will perform a short program at the Veterans Administration Home, 120 Veterans Drive in Oxford.
Formed in 1969, the 18-member U.S. Navy Commodores Jazz Band has been performing the best of big band jazz for the Navy and the nation for more than 40 years. Led by Senior Chief Musician Philip Burlin, the Commodores’ mission includes public concerts, national concert tours, ceremonial support in honoring our veterans, jazz education classes and clinics, and protocol performances for high-level military and civilian government officials.
The list of guest artists that have appeared in concert with Commodores reads like a who’s who of jazz and popular music, including Ray Charles, Branford Marsalis, Clark Terry, Grover Washington Jr., Chris Potter, Jerry Bergonzi, Eddie Daniels, James Moody and many more.
As a versatile and relevant musical organization in the 21st century, the Commodores write and arrange much of their vast library of music. Their concerts offer an eclectic mix of traditional big band music, exciting jazz vocal arrangements as well as fresh new instrumental music. Their most recent recording, “Directions,” was released in 2009 to critical acclaim.
For more information on the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, visit http://www.fordcenter.org/.