Jazz ensembles concert to honor founding director Oct. 5

Jazz ensembles concert to honor founding director Oct. 5

Northwest Missouri State University's jazz ensembles are returning to the stage in October for an evening of music that will pay tribute to the founder of the University's original jazz ensemble.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, in the Charles Johnson Theater at the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building. The performance is free and open to the public.

Professor of Music Dr. William Richardson conducts the ensembles, which will perform a program dedicated to Earle Moss, a music faculty member at Northwest from 1954 to 1986.

The program will include Duke Ellington's "C-Jam Blues," "A Minor Interruption," "Moanin'," "L'il Darlin'," "Lulu's Back in Town," "Sunset Glow" and "The Last Dive," among others.

"This particular concert is special because we are celebrating the legacy of Earle Moss, longtime Northwest music faculty member and founder of the Northwest Progressive Jazz Group in 1955," Richardson said. "One of the pieces we are performing is an original composition of Earle's, 'Sax Happy,' and we are replicating the signature concert opening that the Progressive Jazz Group used for many years."

At Northwest, Moss served as director of bands and a teacher of music theory, in addition to directing the Progressive Jazz Group. He also led the founding of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity. Moss, who continued to reside in Maryville after his retirement, died at the age of 80 in 2002.

The Jazz Ensemble is an audition-based group of musicians dedicated to performing a variety of jazz and commercial music. The ensemble annually sponsors the Northwest District Jazz Band performance and the Northwest Jazz Festival. It also hosts numerous guest artists.

The Studio Jazz Ensemble introduces its members to jazz style and improvisation. The group performs four concerts annually, and enrollment is open to students of all majors with no auditions necessary. Music education students who play secondary instruments or desire to enhance their skills are encouraged to participate.

To learn more about Northwest's musical ensembles and upcoming performances, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/finearts/music/.