KU Jazz Ensemble I & MU Concert Jazz Band to meet in Jazz Border Showdown for two shows at The Blue Room on Dec. 12

LAWRENCE - The University of Kansas Jazz Ensemble I and the University of Missouri Concert Jazz Band will meet for two shows on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015 at The Blue Room in the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, MO. The first show will start at 8:00 p.m. and the second at 9:30 p.m. The program content will be different for each performance.

Tickets are $10 per show. For ticket information call the American Jazz Museum ticket office at 816-474-6262 or visit https://club.americanjazzmuseum.org/event/3rd-annual-border-wars-showdown-ku-vs-mu/.

These unique concerts feature KU Jazz Ensemble I led by Dan Gailey, KU director of jazz studies, and MU Concert Jazz Band led by Dr. Arthur White, MU director of jazz studies. The groups will perform separately in each show and together briefly in the middle of the performance.  

The concerts bring together the extraordinary talents of the students and directors from these two highly esteemed music programs for an evening of exceptional jazz music.  KU Jazz Ensemble I was the recipient of the 2015 DownBeat Student Music Award for Best College Big Band in the Graduate Division, while the MU Concert Jazz Band was recently invited to perform at the International Society for Music Education Conference in Scotland.

Each band will have the other school’s director as a guest soloist on his own compositions/arrangements. In addition, KU assistant director of jazz studies Matt Otto will appear as a guest soloist with each ensemble, along with other special invited guests.

For more information, contact the KU School of Music at 785-864-3436 or visit www.music.ku.edu.

For more information about Dan Gailey, visit http://music.ku.edu/dan-gailey.

For more information about Arthur White, visit http://music.missouri.edu/faculty/white.html.