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Tickets for the 41st Annual Northwest Jazz Festival concert are now on sale, with this year’s event featuring three award-winning acts coming to Northwest College on Tuesday, February 27. The concert begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Nelson Performing Arts Auditorium.
General admission tickets are $25 and student tickets are $15. They may be purchased online at northwestmusic.org/JazzFestival, or at the door the night of the concert. There will be no advance in-person sales prior to that night.
This year’s featured performers are drummer, educator and recording artist Lewis Nash; vocalist, educator, and clinician Marion Powers; and saxophonist, educator, and clinician Andrew Janak. The Tuesday night concert will include outstanding student groups as well.
Nash is universally recognized as one of the great drummers in jazz history in a career that spans more than four decades. His work has been showcased in more than 500 recordings, including 10 Grammy Award winners and numerous Grammy nominees. He is the only musician in jazz history to be featured in both the “Best Jazz Vocal” and “Best Jazz Instrumental” album categories in two separate years.
Powers is a six-time DownBeat Award-winning jazz vocalist whose dynamic improvisation skills, modern arranging style, and sensitive approach to songwriting have kept her in high demand across the country. An equally gifted teacher and performer, she maintains a worldwide voice and piano studio, teaches at the University of Northern Colorado, and remains a sought after figure as a live and studio vocalist.
Janak has shared the stage with jazz greats Phil Woods and Jimmy Heath and has performed or recorded with national acts such as the Temptations, Aloe Blacc, and Wayne Brady. A prolific composer as well, many of Janak’s compositions have been performed or recorded by groups around the United States, and he was a finalist for the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award. Janak is also an active scholar and teaches jazz saxophone and undergraduate improvisation/jazz theory at the University of Northern Colorado.
The Northwest Jazz Festival is a non-competitive performance opportunity for vocal and instrumental jazz groups at all levels of proficiency. During the day, high-quality assessment and instruction are provided by respected jazz educators in a positive and constructive learning environment which encourages young musicians and teachers to grow through camaraderie and musical exchange. The day-long event culminates with the annual concert featuring the top student performers, along with other invited acts.
