Denison University's music department will greet April with a welcome shower of jazz events during Spring Jazz Weekend. On Saturday (April 1) jazz saxophonist Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson, will work with the Denison Jazz Ensemble, directed by Pete Mills, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Burke Recital Hall for an open master class and rehearsal. That will be followed by a concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday (April 2) in Burke Hall featuring the student Jazz Ensemble as well as the Denison Faculty Jazz Ensemble with Anderson. Both events are free and open to the public.

The student ensemble will play works by Duke Ellington, Paul Ferguson, Benny Carter and Thelonious Monk. The Faculty Jazz Ensemble -- Tom Carroll, guitar; Tim Davis, piano; Doug Richeson, bass; Mills, saxophone; and Guy Remonko, drums -- will select from works by Anderson, Cannonball Adderley and Mills.

The Denison Jazz Ensemble also will open for a concert with Anderson on Friday (March 31) at the Columbus Music Hall, a performance celebrating the music of Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane. Denison faculty member Tom Carroll will join Mills and other central Ohio jazz musicians who will be playing that evening.

Anderson, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., first gained recognition for his work with Wynton Marsalis' Septet. His musical studies began with piano lessons but his father, a drummer touring with Cecil Payne, introduced him to jazz via Charlie Parker. He took up the alto saxophone at age 14 and studied with Frank Foster, Charles Davis and Frank Wess. After attending Southern University in Baton Rouge, Anderson played with Betty Carter. Marsalis discovered him in 1988. A member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra since it began touring in 1992, he appeared at Denison with Marsalis in a 1996 Vail concert. He is a visiting artist-in-residence at Michigan State University School of Music for the 2005-2006 school year.

Anderson has recorded and released three solo albums ("Warmdaddy in the Garden of Swing," "The Ways of Warmdaddy," and "Live at the Village Vanguard") and can be heard extensively on the recently issued seven-CD mini-box "Wynton Marsalis Live at the Village Vanguard." He is a frequent participant in Jazz at Lincoln Center educational events. He also served on the faculty at Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- Spring Jazz Weekend featuring Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson as soloist; master class and open rehearsal, 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday (April 1), Burke Recital Hall (240 W. Broadway); and concert with Anderson, Denison Jazz Ensemble and Denison Faculty Jazz Ensemble, 3 p.m., Sunday (April 2), Burke Recital Hall. 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

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Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

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(740) 587-8575