Each spring, the worlds of professional jazz players and student musicians come together for spectacular performances during the University of Houston’s Moores Jazz Festival. This year is no different as trumpet master Tim Hagans and top performers from around the state will jam with UH’s own jazz students.

The Eighth Annual Moores Jazz festival kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 3 in the Moores Opera House with a performance from the Texas Music Festival (TMF) Jazz Project, a collection of Texas’ best jazz players The ensemble will be directed by Noe Marmolejo, UH’s director of jazz studies. Tickets for this performance are $10 and $5 for students and seniors.

“We’ll be playing straight-ahead big band material including some arrangements that were performed by Count Basie’s band,” said Woody Witt, TMF Jazz Project saxophonist and Moores School of Music affiliate artist. “Fans should have a lot of fun with this performance.”

Witt, who is a regular contributor to each year’s festival, will also perform during the March 4 performance that features Hagans and UH’s Moores Jazz Orchestra. This concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in Moores Opera House. Tickets are $15 and $7 for students and seniors.

Hagans will perform a selection of his own contemporary, cutting-edge arrangements with the jazz orchestra. The pieces were all previously composed for a Swedish big band that Hagans works with frequently.

“This music has been very challenging, and our students have been rehearsing diligently to prepare for Hagans’ arrival,” Marmolejo said. “They are looking forward to putting forth their best efforts for both the composer and the audience.”

A jazz veteran, Hagans has performed around the world and alongside jazz greats such as bandleader Stan Kenton, saxophonist Dexter Gordon, pianists Kenny Drew and Horace Parlan and drummer Thad Jones.

Every year, an acclaimed jazz musician is selected as the festival’s guest and works alongside UH music students during the week leading up to the concert. Previous guests have included Randy Brecker, Michael Brecker, Lew Soloff and Kenny Garrett.

Hagans is no stranger to academic settings. In 1999, he conducted an improvisation clinic for students at the Houston High School for Performing and Visual Art (HSPVA). At the time, Witt was the school’s jazz program director, and he found Hagans’ rapport with students and faculty quite motivational.

“He’s very comfortable in an academic setting and is very personable,” Witt said. “He organizes his ideas and presents them very effectively. Seeing him work with students at HSPVA was very inspiring.”

Witt and Hagans will soon perform together throughout the state including a two-night stint at Houston’s Cezzane on April 14 – 15. This summer, the pair will record a live album for the Apria record label to be released in the fall.

For more details on the festival, call 713-743-3313.

Mike Emery
Memery@central.uh.edu