Jazz 31: Annual Seminar and Concert

Seminars today and…

Jazz 31: Annual Seminar and Concert

Seminars today and tomorrow

Concert tomorrow, 8 p.m.

Carnegie Music Hall $8 with Pitt ID

(412) 648-7814

Forget the prim and proper atmosphere of Carnegie Music Hall. According to Nathan Davis, the founder and director of Jazz at Pitt, tomorrow night, “there’s going to be a lot of crazy funk going on.”

For 31 years, the Jazz Seminar has allowed students to learn from the masters of jazz. Davis began the seminar so that his students could get more out of his classes than what a textbook has to offer.

“I didn’t want it to be a stiff program,” Davis said. In fact, had Pitt refused to allow Davis to start the seminar, he might still be playing his saxophone in Paris. Davis left his job there contingent on the fact that he would be able to have major innovators of jazz perform for and speak to his students.

This was the seminar’s original intent. Over the years, it has grown. People now come from all over the city to attend the lectures and enjoy the concert.

“Pitt should be proud.” Davis said.

Not only is he the founder of Pitt’s annual Jazz Seminar and Concert, Davis is also a participant. He will play the saxophone along with other saxophonists Charles McPherson, James Moody and Joe Lovano, trumpeters Jon Faddis and Cecil Bridgewater, guitarist Mark Whitfield, cellist David Baker, pianist Kirk Lightsey, bass guitarist Abraham Laboriel and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington tomorrow night.

“Everyone is a killer,” Davis said about the lineup. There are certain musicians who stand out from the rest. Laboriel, for example, is known for “slapping the bass and jumping up and down” while he performs. He doesn’t just play his music; he dances to it.

The agenda for the concert includes upbeat songs as well as some ballads. There is even an original song by Davis called “Mister-Funk-A-Mess.”

Davis got his start in jazz from a preacher who lived next door to him as a child. Ever since, he’s been hooked. “It’s a good feeling,” Davis said, “People ask me, ‘When are you going to retire?’ And I tell them, ‘From what? Life?’ “

This week’s remaining lectures include “Artistry and Rhythm” at 10 a.m., “Electrifying Strings” at 1 p.m., “Brass Connection” at 2:30 p.m. and “Legends of Jazz” at 4 p.m. on Friday. “Jazz Masters: Passing the Torch” at 10 a.m. and “Rhythm Explosions” at 11:30 a.m. will be held on Saturday. All seminars are free and meet in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room.

Saturday’s concert is close to selling out, but tickets are still available. The proceeds will go to support Pitt’s jazz archives, the recording studio program and scholarships.

— Jennifer Matson, staff writer