Date: Saturday, April 6th, 2024
Place: Terry Concert Hall on the campus of Jacksonville University.
Address: 2800 University Blvd N., Jacksonville FL 32211
Info
The JU Jazz Festival will be an adjudicated non-competitive event with ratings for each band, and awards for best soloists in various categories.
Each performing group is allotted a 30 minute performance slot. This time includes set-up and break-down. Band are welcome to perform as many selections as they like during their allotted time.
Each band will receive a 30 minute clinic immediately after your performance.
Performance spots are limited, please register early to ensure your bands performance time. Entry fee is $150.00 per group.
Professional sound and back line (amps, drums, piano) will be provided.
We are currently limiting each school to 2 performing groups. Additional groups will be added if space is available.
Food trucks and vendors will be on location throughout the event.
Adjudicators
Jeff McLaughlin
Guitarist Jeff McLaughlin creates musical soundscapes filled with passion, depth, and a progressive spirit. His playing and composition are both steeped in tradition and focused on new directions in creative music.
He has appeared around the world including the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Banff Jazz Workshop, the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, the Brooklyn Americana Festival, the NAMM Bass Bash, the Indianapolis Jazz Festival, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, and the Philadelphia Folk Festival. He has performed as a sideman and with his own projects in famed venues such as NYC's Apollo Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 55 Bar, Blue Note, Minton's Playhouse, Bar Next Door, City Winery, and LA's Blue Whale.
Jeff has performed with artists such as Ari Hoenig, Drew Gress, Jill Sobule, Tom Kennedy, Rudy Royston, Tina Fabrique, Ralph Alessi, Queen Esther, Jon Cowherd, Shane Endsley, Jonathan Finlayson, Jason Palmer, Michael Attias, Jerome Sabbaugh, Steve Houghton, Rachel Caswell, Chris Coleman, Brent Wallarab, and David Baker.
Jeff also served as an Associate Instructor in the Jazz Studies Department at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where he directed the Jazz Ensemble IV, coached combos, presented lectures in jazz pedagogy and history, and taught applied jazz guitar lessons. He currently lives in New York City.
Devin Hoey
C. Devin Hoey is an esteemed music educator with eighteen years of experience specializing in instrumental and general music arts programs. His dedication to mentoring and empowering young musicians is evident through his commitment to fostering a positive learning atmosphere aimed at unlocking students' full potential. With a proven track record of excellence, Mr. Hoey possesses exceptional leadership skills, adept at guiding rehearsals that inspire students to achieve musical mastery and cultivate a lifelong passion for music.
Hailing from Eustis, FL, Mr. Hoey currently serves as a band director at Timber Creek High School in Orlando, FL, a position he has held since 2006. With his assistance, the comprehensive music program at Timber Creek has been able to maintain three concert bands, two jazz bands, percussion ensemble, and three winter guards. Since 2006, the Timber Creek Regiment (marching band) has won three State Championships, and all parts of the arts program consistently receive superior ratings at the Florida Bandmasters Association's Assessments.
In addition to his role in education, Mr. Hoey is a seasoned performer, having showcased his talent as a tuba player for the Walt Disney Company's Main Street Philharmonic at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, FL since 2004. His professional affiliations include membership in the Florida Bandmasters Association, Florida Music Educators Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Additionally, Mr. Hoey is certified by FBA to judge solo/ensemble and marching band.
Residing in Orlando, FL, Mr. Hoey cherishes quality time spent with his incredible wife, two children, and their cat, "Popeye."
Matthew Vance
Matt Vance is baritone saxophonist with seven-time Grammy-nominated recording artists Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge and is one of the top-call woodwind performers in Florida and the Southeast. He performs regularly with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and has performed with many name jazz and pop music artists throughout his career. Matt received degrees from Appalachian State University and Florida State University, studying applied saxophone, bassoon and jazz studies. He is also the Woodwind Product Specialist for Buffet Crampon USA, overseeing woodwind research & development and quality control for Buffet Crampon clarinets and saxophones, Julius Keilwerth saxophones and W. Schreiber bassoons in North America. Before joining Buffet Crampon USA, Matt served on the faculties of Florida State College at Jacksonville, the University of North Florida, Jacksonville University and Appalachian State University’s Cannon Music Camp. www.mattvancemusic.com
CLINICIANS
John Ricci
John has been a performer, jazz educator, composer, and clinician in the North Florida area for over twenty five years. He attended the jazz studies program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville where he was mentored directly by internationally recognized saxophonist and jazz pedagogue Jerry Coker and former Art Blakey Jazz Messenger Donald Brown. He then attended Florida State University earning a Masters of Music in Jazz Studies under a teaching assistantship. In that time he performed at Preservation Hall in New Orleans, and received numerous awards including a Downbeat Magazine award in 1995. John has since performed with a myriad of top recording artists, namely Marcus Printup and Chris Potter, and plays regularly in numerous club dates spanning from New York to Miami. He’s performed locally as a tenor saxophone soloist with the Jacksonville Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Four Tops, The Temptations, and in festivals including Chijazz Festival in Singapore, as a regular performer in the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, the Savannah Jazz Festival, as a guest artist with pianist/composer Donald Brown in the Knoxville Jazz Festival, headlined the Inaugural Jacksonville jazz Series with his own quartet, including an invitation to perform with his jazz trio to share the stage with guitarist Julian Lage:
"John Ricci is the one of the most outstanding musicians I've had the privilege of working with. As a saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, he so deeply embodies the music he creates and with such clarity, honesty, and soul. His music is fresh and exciting, inviting the listener as well as the players into a truly new and inspiring journey. I love his music and am grateful to have experienced it both as a listener and as fellow player."
Julian Lage
He has also appeared as a sideman and arranger on several projects, among them Angel Roman’s Mambo Blue Con Fuego, recorded on violinist-singer composer Rebecca Zapen’s first release, Hummingbird, and as a featured performer on Arranger/Composer Mica Bethea’s debut project: The Mica Bethea Big Band.
John’s recording project Holding Time received high critical acclaim, and was the debut release of some of his own very inspired compositions and arrangements and includes some of the finest musicians in the southeast. In January 2009, John was judged the winner of the jazz song category of the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards. John has taught at the University of North Florida assisting legendary saxophonist Bunky Green, and has now held the position Director of Jazz Studies at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, FL for over 20 years. He can be found performing regularly in the Northeast Florida region.
Jack Miller
Jack Miller is a drummer, producer, audio engineer, music educator, and author. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he found his passion and career in grade school through helping others with music; notably organizing and playing in benefit concerts for Leukemia raising thousands of dollars.
Jack moved to Jacksonville, FL to continue his education with drumming legend Danny Gottlieb at the University of North Florida where he received his Bachelors and Masters in Jazz Performance. While attending UNF, he studied directly under, Charlotte Mabrey, Andrea Venet, Dave Steinmeyer, and Lynne Arriale while also having the opportunity to play with many guest artists including Branford Marsalis, Bill Waltrous, Miguel Zenon, Pasquale Grasso, Bob Mintzer, Dennis Mackrel, Ignacio Berroa, Wycliffe Gordon, and Jack Peterson.
Jack has had the privilege of working with many great musicians such as, Dr. Bill Prince, Linda Cole, Doug Carn, Kevin Bales, Dave Steinmeyer, Phil Morrison, Delbert Felix, Doug Wamble, Nicole Zuraitis Gary Starling, Lyn Avenue, Sam Herb, The Equinox Jazz Orchestra, and Lisa McClendon. In addition to his accolades as a drummer, he has worked with many artists as an audio engineer, mixer, and producer including Ulysses Owens Jr., Richard Niles, Courtney Bryan, Danny Gottlieb, Lynne Arriale, The John Lumpkin Jazz Discovery Series, JW Pepper Publishing, The Jacksonville Jazz Festival, Chic-fil-A Headquarters, The University of North Florida, and The Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.
Jack is currently an award winning producer, manager, audio engineer and board member for Bold City Music Productions, LLC, and an adjunct instructor at Jacksonville University. Jack is a member of the TNR Products family.
David Champagne
David Champagne has been on the professional music scene in Jacksonville since the mid 1990’s. He holds bachelor and masters degrees in jazz studies from the University of North Florida with additional graduate studies at Florida State University. He placed 2nd in the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition, and has won numerous Downbeat Magazine Soloist Awards. He has performed as a featured soloist at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, Jacksonville Jazz Festival, The Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Montreux Jazz Festival, The Jazz Corner, and many other venues. He is an active clinician in the North Florida area, and is the Adjunct Professor of Jazz Trumpet for the Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts & Humanities at Jacksonville University. David serves as Associate Pastor at Sunrise Community Church in Atlantic Beach, FL and is a Curry Mouthpiece Artist.
Contact
For more information please contact:
John Ricci - Director of Jazz Studies
(904) 256-7457
jricci@ju.edu
Chris Creswell - Director of Bands
(904) 256-7399
ccreswe@ju.edu