The Jazz program at William Paterson University is under the direction of the Coordinator of Jazz Studies, Dr. David Demsey, and Director of Jazz Studies as well as of one of the incredible musicians who works alongside Dr. Demsey in the program—pianist and professor Bill Charlap, who has participated in JAM at WBGO for several years. For this year’s JAM session, we asked Professor Charlap if he would play alongside his students, and the result of this collaboration was incredible.
The ensemble consists of: Chicago native Dakarai Barkclay (trumpet and flugelhorn), who arranged several compositions for the ensemble; Michael Howe (saxophone) from Miami, FL, who composed a song in memory of Roy Hargrove—"I Remember Roy" (Listen to that track, above); Dan Neville from Sonoma, CA (vibes), who arranged one of the ensemble selections; Hoyeon Choi from Seoul, South Korea (guitar); Ben Petkaitis from West Hartford, CT (bass); and Jared Spears from St. Louis, MO (drums).
They performed music by Kenny Dorham, Duke Ellington, Clare Fischer and the aforementioned original composition "I Remember Roy," by Michael Howe.
The program at William Paterson is a true jazz environment in which students learn firsthand about the jazz world and the requirements for becoming a successful professional musician. It is one of the few in the country with real emphasis on small-group playing and a genuine commitment to the jazz tradition.
Listen to WBGO three times daily weekdays (11:55am, 6:55pm and 10:55pm) to hear songs from this ensemble, and one more to come into early May as we present a special chorus performance from the jazz program at New York University, headed by vocalist Janis Siegel to close out our celebration of music education for Jazz Appreciation Month!
Funding for this series was made possible by a generous grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.