Thursday, April 10, 2003

WILMINGTON, NC – Jazz and blues vocalist Willie E. Atkinson will perform with the UNCW Big Band at 8 p.m., Friday, April 25, in Kenan Auditorium. Admission is $10 and free to UNCW students with a valid ID. Tickets will be available at the auditorium box office on the night of the concert. Proceeds will benefit scholarships for students in the UNCW Jazz Studies Program. This performance is possible through the Cape Fear Jazz Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of jazz.

Atkinson, a native of Johnston County, has performed at jazz festivals and clubs in Northern California, including Yoshi’s, one of the Bay Area’s premiere jazz venues, and internationally in Japan, Okinawa and the Philippines. Atkinson is known for a smooth, soulful interpretation of jazz and blues. His repertoire includes favorites such as Summertime, Round Midnight and Stormy Monday Blues as well as songs by Irving Berlin, Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter and T. Bone Walker. Atkinson began his professional music career in the 1960s as a high school student in Raleigh.

The UNCW Big Band, under the direction of Frank Bongiorno, will perform several compositions arranged by jazz faculty member Jerald Shynett and several UNCW jazz students. The UNCW Jazz Combos, led by Shynett, will open the concert.

For more information, contact the UNCW Department of Music at 962-3390.