March 28, 2024

CSM Jazz Fest Set for April 8-9

Jazz Fest

The 13th annual Jazz Festival at the College of Southern Maryland will be both a learning experience and an entertaining way to spend the day April 8 and 9, 2016. Jazz bands at the area’s public schools will get an opportunity to sharpen their skills, and the public will be treated to excellent performances.

All day April 8, jazz band students will be able to attend clinics on the college’s La Plata campus, at which Grammy-winning percussionist Gregg Bissonette will rehearse with each band, then give them tips and critiques on their performances. The public is invited to attend. The clinics begin at 9 am.

At 8 pm that night, see the Randy Runyon Trio of New York City. Randy Runyon Jr. is on guitar, along with John Young on bass, and Tom Hartman on drums.

Then at 8 pm April 9, the North Point High School Jazz Band and CSM’s Solid Brass Big Band Jazz Ensemble will conclude the festival with special performances by the Randy Runyon Trio and Bissonette.

Mr. Bissonette is originally from Detroit, and has come to be one of the most versatile drummers known. His repertoire includes a range from big band, blues and rock, to Latins and fusion. He has played percussion with bands that range from from Santana, David Lee Roth, Ringo Starr, Linda Ronstadt, and Andrea Bocelli.

Mr. Runyon Jr. is from La Plata, and first picked up the guitar when he was 11. His debut album, “Arrival,” was released in 2006. The recording features compositions by Miles Davis, Carl Filipiak, Thelonious Monk, and Wayne Shorter. Three years later, he released “Randy Runyon Animal Zoo,” a collection of all original compositions that combine jazz, funk, R&B, hip-hop, rock, classical, and psychedelic elements.

To watch a history of CSM’s Jazz Fest, click here.

For information on this year’s festival, visit CSM’s Arts page. For tickets, contact [email protected] or 301-934-7828.

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