SMSU Jazz Ensemble
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The SMSU Jazz Ensemble performs a variety of standard and new jazz works of all difficulty levels and styles. Emphasis is placed on the authentic performance of this truly American style of music and enhancing technical and theoretical skills associated with playing this music.
Participation in the Jazz Ensemble is open to all SMSU students.
As part of the SMSU Band's Guest Artist Series the Jazz Ensemble hosts and performs with guest jazz performers from around the country. Recent guest-clinicians have included:
Larry McWilliams, trumpet (2007); Dr. Michael Flack, piano (2008); Jim Snidero, alto saxophone (2009); Dennis Wilson, trombone (2010); Dr. Matthew Murdock, trumpet (2010); Rodney Whitaker, bass (2011); Michael Philip Mossman, trumpet (2012); Antonio Hart, alto saxophone (2013); Dr. Bill Prince, multi-instrumentalist (2014); Conrad Herwig, trombone (2015); Mike Clark, drum set (2016); Larry McWilliams, trumpet (2016); Rob Dixon, tenor saxophone (2017); Eduardo Tami, flute (2017); the Dakota Jazz Collective (2017); Denis DiBlasio, bari sax/flute (2019); Bill Huber, trombone (2020); Dr. Oliver Nelson, flute (2021); Allison Miller, drum set (2022); and Tom "Bones" Malone, trombone (2023).
This year the Jazz Ensemble will host.
Tom Scott, Saxophone -- Jazz Residency -- November 18-19, 2024 (rescheduled from March, 2024) AND
Kate Skinner, Voice & Piano -- Jazz Residency -- March 24 & 25, 2025
Tom Scott is a renowned composer, arranger, producer, music director, saxophonist and educator. His 33 solo recordings have earned him 13 Grammy nominations and 3 Grammy awards. In 2013 he produced a CD for young ukulele master Brittni Paiva which won a Hawaiian Grammy for 'Ukulele Album of the Year', and in 2017 received his first Emmy Award nomination for Musical Direction of the Tony Bennett 90th Birthday TV Special on NBC.
Tom’s career as a guest artist spans more than 2000 recordings—by such diverse artists as Barbra Streisand, Quincy Jones, Thelonious Monk, the Blues Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and Aerosmith. His numerous contributions as a player and arranger include Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark and Miles of Aisles, Steely Dan’s Aja and Gaucho; hit singles like Carole King’s “Jazzman,” Paul McCartney’s “Listen to What the Man Said,” Rod Stewart’s “Do You Think I’m Sexy,” Blondie’s “Rapture,’ Toto’s “Rosanna,” Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love for You” and on countless movie soundtracks such as Taxi Driver, The Jerk, Three Days of the Condor, Heaven Can Wait, Sea of Love, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc. and the latest release of A Star Is Born.
Other achievements include composing film scores, among them Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Uptown Saturday Night, Stir Crazy, Hanky Panky, The Sure Thing, Soul Man and Shakes the Clown. His television composing and conducting credits include the themes for Family Ties and Starsky & Hutch, background scores for Baretta, Cannon, Barnaby Jones, Streets Of San Francisco, numerous T.V. Movies and Specials. He has served as Musical Director for the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards (9 times), the People’s Choice Awards, Comic Relief, the Carol Burnett Show, the Pat Sajak Show, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Olivia Newton-John, and the GRP All-Star Big Band, among others—and composed the score for the recent HBO documentary The Bronx, U.S.A. He teaches Master Classes in Woodwinds, Arranging & Film Composing, and is currently on the faculty of the New York University Summer Jazz program.
Learn more at Tom Scott's website.
Jazz pianist and vocalist Kate Skinner maintains an active performing, composing, and teaching career in the western United States. A native of Ogden, Utah, Skinner pulls influences from the bluegrass and classical roots of her childhood into both her songwriting and performing as a jazz musician. In her teenage and college years, Kate delved into R&B, funk, and hip hop, genres that also continually find their way into her musical explorations helping to create her own unique voice. Part of this unique voice is an obsession with alternative keyboard instruments and a study of the great keyboardists of jazz, rock, and funk.
As a pianist, Skinner is in demand in a variety of performance styles and has performed with the Downbeat-award-winning jazz band from the University of Northern Colorado, Jazz Lab Band I among many other established large and small jazz ensembles. Her work as a vocalist has seen much success among a wide audience of listeners across genres. Kate’s compositions and playing have won multiple awards, including a Downbeat award for Outstanding Vocal Performance and a Jazz Education Network award for composition.
Skinner is currently Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, where she directs Jazz Band II and teaches multiple courses in jazz studies. She holds Doctor of Arts in Music and Master of Music degrees in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado.
Learn more at Kate Skinner's website
2024 - 25 Performance Schedule
November 15, 2024
SMSU Fine Arts Gala Performance
For more information on the Fine Arts Gala, see the SMSU Foundation website.
November 18 & 19, 2024
"TOM"
the program will feature classic works by and about TOM including:
Remember TOMmy by Chris Walden in honor of TOMmy Dorsey and
other works made famous by the TOMmy Dorsey Orchestra
pieces by TOM Kubus, TOM Garling, and Mike TOMaro
and featuring the rescheduled Jazz Residency of TOM Scott
7:30 p.m. performances are free and open to the public
November 18 at (location and guest groups to be announced)
November 19 at (location and guest groups to be announced)
December 7, 2024
"SMSU Holiday Revels"
featuring the SMSU/Community Concert Band, SMSU Glee Club,
Alta Voce, Chorale, and Jazz Ensemble
Schwan Community Center for the Performing Arts (at Marshall High School)
3:00 p.m.
**$5 admission charge, children under 5 years are free**
All proceeds go toward music scholarships.
Weather back-up date: December 8, 2024 @ 3:00 p.m.
March 24, 2025
SMSU Jazz Ensemble with guest vocalist & pianist, Kate Skinner
with the Luverne High School Jazz Band
Luverne High School
7:30 p.m.
Free and Open to the Public
AND
March 25, 2025
SMSU Jazz Ensemble with Kate Skinner
with the Marshall High School Jazz Bands
SMSU Fine Arts Theatre
7:30 p.m.
Free and Open to the Public
April 7, 2025
All-City Jazz Festival
with other jazz bands from the schools in Marshall
Schwan Community Center for the Performing Arts
7:00 p.m.
April 21, 2025
Spring Concert
featuring new works and several of our favorites from the year.
For more information about the SMSU Jazz Ensemble, or to book the Jazz Ensemble for a performance, contact Dr. John Ginocchio by email at John.Ginocchio@smsu.edu or by phone at (507) 537-7209.
Last Modified: 9/11/24 7:39 PM | Website Feedback