AWC sponsors jazz festival, clinic
On Friday, the AWC Jazz Festival will begin with a free clinic and master class from 4 to 5:30 p.m. followed by a free performance by the Fred Forney Quartet (featuring trumpet, piano, bass and drums) from 5 to 6:15 p.m. in the band room at Yuma High School, 400 S. 6th Ave.
"Forney is one of the most in-demand trumpeters in the Phoenix metropolitan area and first call lead trumpet player for star acts like Johnny Mathis, David Foster, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross, Al Jarreau and many others," according to AWC. "He also plays lead trumpet for touring Broadway shows from New York, has been a salaried musician with the Tucson Symphony and Phoenix Symphony orchestras ... and is currently the director of jazz studies at Mesa Community College. In the recording studio, he has performed on countless jingles, nationally syndicated television and movie dates recorded in Phoenix. He has also produced many jazz CDs."
For the festival’s second event, the quartet will conduct a band clinic at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Gila Ridge High School Auditorium, 7150 E. 24th St. The clinic will focus on performance, style, balance and other musical aspects for the local high school and middle school jazz ensembles. Each band will get an hour with the quartet. The final schedule will be available at the clinic.
A concert featuring the AWC Jazz Ensemble and the Fred Forney Quartet will be held Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Gila Ridge High School Auditorium. General admission is $10; $15 for couples; and $5 for seniors, servicemen and women, and students. Children under 12 can attend for free.
For more information contact Shawn Pollard, AWC professor of instrumental music, at louis.pollard@azwestern.edu or 344-7573.
