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JERSEY CITY, NJ – Acclaimed trumpeter Jon Faddis will perform as a special guest with the NJCU Alumni Jazz Big Band in Six Decades of Jazz at NJCU, a free concert series launched in celebration of the inauguration of Dr. Sue Henderson as New Jersey City University’s 12th president. The concert will take place at the J. Owen Grundy Pier, Exchange Place in Jersey City on Friday, September 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
The NJCU Alumni Jazz Big Band will feature musicians who have attend the school going back to the sixties and will be under the direction of longtime faculty member Dick Lowenthal. Some of the performers will include drummer Rich DeRosa, sax players Mark Friedman and Bob Magnuson, trumpet players Vinnie Cutro, Freddie Hendrix and John Pendenza, and trombonists Danny Hall and Doug Rothauser.
Guest soloist Jon Faddis is best known for his association with trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie. He leads the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars Big Band as well as his own groups. In addition to a successful playing career, Mr. Faddis is a noted educator, currently teaching at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College – SUNY.
“This concert serves as a tribute to the ongoing quality of the students and faculty,” said Mr. Lowenthal. “NJCU was a trend setter in New Jersey with its degree program in jazz. Over the years, University ensembles have toured the United States, performed world wide, made several recordings and won many major jazz competitions.”
NJCU offers an outstanding program in jazz studies featuring a faculty of world-class New York-based jazz artists. Both undergraduates and graduate students take part in a rigorous program designed to develop their improvisational, compositional and ensemble skills. The program also offers courses in the business side of the industry. NJCU alumni have an impressive list of credits including Broadway, television, the recording industry and symphony orchestras. Alumni have worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry including Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, Gerry Mulligan, Ray Charles, Peter Nero, Marian McPartland, Lionel Hampton, Johnny Mathis, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Horace Silver, Nancy Wilson, Mel Torme and Tony Bennett.
The jazz concert is part of the day-long celebration of the inauguration of NJCU’s first woman president, Dr. Sue Henderson. The ceremonies begin at 10:00 AM in the Margaret Williams Theatre in Hepburn Hall on the NJCU campus and will be followed by an afternoon of related events. Dr. Henderson is a mathematician and educator who became the first woman to lead NJCU when she assumed the office in August 2012. Dr. Henderson was named president after a nationwide search by the NJCU Board of Trustees. She previously served Queens College as both chief operating officer and vice president of institutional advancement. A jazz fan, she served on the board for the Louis Armstrong House among many other projects.
The concert will be free and open to the public. The J. Owen Grundy Pier is conveniently located near public transportation and there are parking lots in the area. For more information, visit the NJCU website at www.njcu.edu.
Editor’s Note: Photo is of Jon Faddis courtesy of All About Jazz. Additional photos and interviews may be arranged by contacting Don Jay Smith at 908-832-1020 or by email at don@lksassociates.com.
