Denison University will be holding a jazz ensemble weekend starting Thursday (April 7) and concluding Sunday (April 10). The weekend will include performances by Denison University faculty and students, as well as from a Cleveland-based group, The Bobby Selvaggio Quintet, and a Vail guest artist, trombonist Paul Ferguson. All performances are free and open to the public.

The weekend kicks off with jazz night at 10 p.m. on Thursday (April 7) in The Bandersnatch (Huffman Hall, 700 East Loop) featuring The Bobby Selvaggio Quintet. The weekend of jazz continues on Saturday (April 9) with an open rehearsal from 12:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. with the Denison University Jazz Ensemble and guest artist Ferguson in the Burke Rehearsal Room. Also at 9 p.m. on Saturday (April 9), the Tom Carroll Quintet featuring Ferguson will perform at Brews Too in downtown. The weekend wraps up at 3 p.m. on Sunday (April 10) with the Denison University Jazz Ensemble and Denison University faculty Jazz group in a joint performance featuring Ferguson in Burke Recital Hall.

Ferguson has been the director of jazz studies at Case Western Reserve University since 1988. He is a graduate of the University of Akron and the Eastman School of Music where he was a fellow student with Pete Mills, an adjunct instructor at Denison and arranger of the Jazz Ensemble weekend. He traveled with the Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller bands as lead trombonist and arranger and currently fills those functions with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra.

Principal trombonist of the Canton Symphony from 1989 until 1998, Ferguson also has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Apollo's Fire, the Cleveland Chamber Brass, the New Hampshire Festival Orchestra and various groups across Northeast Ohio. In 1995 he was the recipient of the Gil Evans Fellowship in Jazz Composition. The Cleveland Pops used three of his arrangements in "The Drew Carey Show."

Ferguson has released three CDs: "Blue Highways" was recorded with the RIAS Big Band of Berlin; "Friends" was recorded with his own orchestra; and "High Anxiety Bones" with Steven Witser, Edward Zadrozny and Raymond Premru.

A native of Cleveland, Selvaggio is the son of local jazz legend Pete Selvaggio. He was exposed to jazz at an early age and is now considered one of the most innovative musicians to come out of Cleveland in years. He began to gig regularly after high school and attended Kent State University where he earned his undergraduate degree in music performance. Selvaggio immersed himself in his passion and dedicated himself to jazz fulltime. He joined the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and received several regional and state awards for performance.

Selvaggio began teaching high school and college students in 1991. Now, he also serves as director of jazz studies at Muskingum College. He previously taught jazz studies at Kent State, Akron and Cleveland State Universities.

In 1992, Selvaggio received a scholarship to attend the Manhattan School of Music where he earned a master's degree in jazz performance. He studied and worked with Dick Oatts, Bobby Watson and Ryan Kisor, played with the Village Vanguard Orchestra, and gigged at the great jazz club, Birdland. In 1999 he released his debut CD, "First Steps," to critical acclaim. In 2001 Selvaggio completed his second album "Round." He has composed and arranged more than 200 pieces for various groups.

Playing the faculty jazz group are Tom Carroll on guitar, Pete Mills on saxophone, Ernie Bastien on trumpet, Tim Davis on piano, Doug Richeson on bass and Guy Remonko on drums.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- Jazz Night at The Bandersnatch featuring The Bobby Selvaggio Quintet from Cleveland at 10 p.m. on Thursday (April 7) at The Bandersnatch (Huffman Hall, 700 East Loop). Free and open to the public. Contact: (740) 587-6220 to confirm information.

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- Open Rehearsal with the Denison University Jazz Ensemble and Guest Artist, Trombonist Paul Ferguson from 12:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (April 9) in the Burke Rehearsal Room (240W. Broadway). Free and open to the public. Contact: (740) 587-6220 to confirm information.

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- Tom Carroll Quintet featuring trombonist Paul Ferguson at 9 p.m. on Saturday (April 9) at Brews Too in Downtown Granville (128 E. Broadway). Contact: (740) 587-6220 to confirm information.

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- Denison University Jazz Ensemble and Denison University Jazz Quintet featuring Vail Guest Artist Paul Ferguson at 3 p.m. on Sunday (April 10) in Burke Recital Hall (240 W. Broadway). Free and open to the public. Contact: (740) 587-6220 to confirm information.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575