Count Basie's music will be celebrated at Jazz Series opener

Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Music will present the annual Jazz Series season opener, "Blues, Basie and Beyond" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall at the River Campus.

The concert will open with the Jazz Lab Band, directed by Jay Contrino, who will play small group jazz from the standard "Watermelon Man," written by Herbie Hancock, to the Nat Adderley classic, "Sack of Woe." Other pieces will include a Jay Contrino arrangement of blues and "The Chicken" by Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis.

Southeast's Studio Jazz Ensemble has performed at the Elmhurst Jazz Festival in Chicago and the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival and received accolades from its tour of schools in the St. Louis area and local concerts at the River Campus. The ensemble is planning a return trip to the Elmhurst Jazz Festival in February.

The concert, led by Robert Conger, will feature varied jazz compositions from some of the greats in big band jazz. The Count Basie tune "All of Me," arranged by Billy Byers; "Black Orpheus," arranged in Afro-Cuban style by Eric Richards; and "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," featuring lead tenor saxophone player Steven Watkins, will be highlighted.

Also featured will be two jazz vocalists, Marie Meunier on "September in the Rain," made popular by Frank Sinatra, and Brittany Graham on "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Tickets for the concert and for the Jazz Series are available through the River Campus box office at 651-2265. For more information, contact Conger at 651-2398.

Tickets may be purchased by contacting the River Campus box office in the Cultural Arts Center, 518 S. Fountain St., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, by calling 651-2265, or going online to RiverCampusEvents.com.