Thursday, October 11, 2007

Wilmington, N.C. - The University of North Carolina Wilmington Department of Music celebrates 25 years of jazz in the classroom and on the stage when the Cape Fear Jazz Orchestra performs at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 19 in the Cultural Arts Building recital hall. The concert is a tribute to the life of Günther Skiba, friend, supporter and lover of jazz and jazz education. Proceeds from the concert will benefit UNC Wilmington jazz scholarships.

The Cape Fear Jazz Orchestra will perform the music of Charles Mingus and other jazz legends. One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Mingus was a virtuoso bass player as well as an accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. The New Yorker wrote of Mingus: "For sheer melodic and rhythmic and structural originality, his compositions may equal anything written in western music in the twentieth century."

Made up of professional jazz musicians from across North and South Carolina, the Cape Fear Jazz Orchestra includes UNCW music faculty members Frank Bongiorno (saxophone), Steve Bailey (bass), Bob Russell (guitar), Chris Ackerman (trumpet) and Mike Waddell (saxophone).

The concert begins at 7:30 pm in the Cultural Arts building recital hall. Tickets are $20. For advanced tickets, contact Kenan Auditorium box office at 910.962.3350. For more information about the concert, contact the Department of Music at 910.962.3415.

Media contact:

Ann Seymour, music department events coordinator, UNC Wilmington, 910.962.3415 or seymoura@uncw.edu