Jazz Festival atttracts local musicians

The University of Kansas kicked off the 29th Annual Jazz Festival Friday, March 3.

Jazz ensembles from area middle and high schools came to Murphy Hall Friday to perform songs and attend clinics from professional jazz musicians. The festival is sponsored by the KU Department of Music and Dance.

Students and community members are granted the opportunity to communicate and relate with musicians during daytime clinics and master classes.

This year, "Territory Bands, Then and Now " featured a forum created by KU's Interdisciplinary Jazz Group to discuss territory jazz bands. Panelists discussed how the bands played regional shows and one nighters to help build a foundation for the Kansas City Jazz scene.

Sherrie Tucker is an Associate Professor of American Studies at KU, where she teaches a class called "Jazz and American Culture." Tucker is also a member of the Interdisciplinary Jazz Studies Group.

"It's come to represent a tradition of incorporating and reinterpreting and inventing and creating from available materials and from cultural circumstances," Tucker said.

The KU festival features performances from vocalists Julia Dollison and drummer Peter Erkine Friday night.