The David Sanchez Group Making the Connection Between Students and Musicians

The quintet will perform, followed by a jam session featuring student musicians. Sanchez, one of the leading voices in Afro-Caribbean jazz, represents the young dynamic jazz artists featured in Marsalis Jams programs. Born in Puerto Rico, Sanchez arrived in the United States in 1988. He later became the featured saxophonist in Dizzy Gillespie's last ensemble, the United Nations Orchestra. Sanchez started to record under his own name in 1995 and has released six albums to date in the Columbia label.

The group will also host a "Meet the Artists" panel on Tuesday, March 1 at 7 p.m. in the E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium. The panel session will be followed by a workshop that is designed to form stronger links among school-age musicians, student audiences and the best of today's active jazz ensembles.

Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Rick Davies, associate professor and chair of the Music Department, at 518-564-2471.

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These events are made possible by Marsalis Jams, the educational initiative of the Marsalis Music label created by Branford Marsalis. The goals of Marsalis Jams are three-fold. For younger musicians who are involved with jazz performance at the high school and college levels, the program provides a rare opportunity to play with and learn from acknowledged artists and their working ensembles in a jam session context. Audience members, many of whom may have limited exposure to jazz in live performance, encounter rare tutorial in the essential nature of jazz creativity as student and professional players interact. At the same time, the featured bands receive an opportunity to present their music outside of the more familiar concert and nightclub settings to new audiences. 
     
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