Lee’s School of Music will present a small jazz concert on November 15th

The Lee University Junior Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Tom Hurst and Shawn Perkinson, will present a concert on Tuesday, November 15, at 7:30 pm in the Dixon Center.

The performance will include selections such as Charlie Parker’s “My Little Suede Shoes,” Miles Davis’ “Solar” and Ella Fitzgerald’s “Cheek to Cheek.”

“Professor Perkinson and I are very pleased with the work of our student members in their efforts to develop their collective knowledge of the jazz vernacular and history of the various eras of the idiom,” said Mr. Hurst. “We think they’ve made some great selections that will be fun repertoire for this fall’s concert.”

Other selections will include such works as Frank Sinatra’s “All of Me,” featuring vocalist David Herzog; “Mean to Me” by Sarah Vaughan, featuring vocalist Sophia Dejesus; Wayne Shorter’s “Speak No Evil,” featuring saxophonist Austin Barber; “Hypotheticals” by Lake Street Drive, featuring vocalist Caroline Marie Layton; Billy Holiday’s “Moonlight in Vermont,” featuring vocalist Emma Richard; and George Benson’s “On Broadway,” with all four vocalists.

The performers represent a diverse mix of students from various departments of the music program and will contribute arrangements within the jazz genre.

Mr. Hurst is a Nashville-based percussionist, educator and clinician who has been a commercial percussion and drum set instructor at Lee for four years. He has supported artists across the spectrum of popular music for 25 years, whether behind the drum kit or playing ethnic percussion. The Backstreet Boys, Gary Allan, Wang Chung, Chuck Wicks, Tiffany, Joe Nichols, Sister Hazel, Tracy Lawrence, Peter Noon of Herman’s Hermits and James Otto are some of the national and international artists who have used Hurst’s performance services for tours. and registration.

Mr. Perkinson, a commercial/jazz guitar instructor at Lee, studied with such artists as Mark Boling, Donald Brown and Jerry Coker while earning his bachelor’s degree in studio music and jazz from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has performed and recorded with many different bands and artists over the years, including The Charlie Daniels Band, Widespread Panic and Confederate Railroad, with music ranging stylistically from rock, country, bluegrass and gospel to blues and jazz.

The concert is free, unticketed and open to the public.

For more information, contact Lee’s School of Music at 614-8240 or email [email protected].