2009 KPLU Christmas JamRebroadcast: Friday, December 25 - 12 noon-1 p.m.
 
Watch Now
Archival Information
Award-winning
jazz vocalist (and Roosevelt High School graduate) Sara Gazarek was
this year's special guest. She performed Christmas selections with the
Pacific Lutheran University Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Dr.
David Deacon-Joyner. Ms. Gazarek was joined by jazz pianist/composer
Dawn Clement, a faculty member at Cornish College of the Arts. The
event was hosted by KPLU’s Nick Morrison.
KPLU will present a rebroadcast of the concert at noon on Christmas Day.
Sara Gazarek
Sara Gazarek is steeped in the jazz tradition, but is not afraid to embrace the music that moves her generation. Born
and raised in Seattle, Ms. Gazarek grew up without much exposure to
jazz. She denotes any and all preliminary jazz education to Roosevelt
High School’s big band and choir director, Scott Brown. As a senior in
high school, she was awarded the first ever Ella Fitzgerald Charitable
Foundation Outstanding Jazz Vocalist Award at the Essentially Ellington
Festival in NYC.
Sara studied at the prestigious Thornton
School of Music at USC in Los Angeles under the tutelage of John
Clayton, Shelly Berg, Tierney Sutton, and Carmen Bradford. While there,
Sara helped develop the JazzReach program and, as a result, was able to
spend two years working with inner city elementary school children as a
jazz choir director. Sara continues to educate young people today as
the sole ambassador for the non-profit music and arts education
organization, Music For All.
In 2003, Ms. Gazarek was awarded the 2003 Downbeat Student Music Award for Best Collegiate Vocalist. Shortly
thereafter, Sara was asked to perform with Oleta Adams, Karrin Allyson,
and Diane Schuur as the "as yet undiscovered talent" on the Concord
Jazz Festival tour.
Clayton produced her first album, Yours, which ranked in the Top 10 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Charts. In addition, Sara was voted the #3 Best New Artist in the JazzTimes Readers Poll. In the follow up to Yours, Ms. Gazarek’s newest album, Return to You,
seamlessly combines the intimacy of singer/songwriter stylings with the
musical and improvisational elements of jazz, and features well-planned
arrangements of more contemporary standards by songwriters Leonard
Cohen, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Harry Connick Jr., and Gillian
Welch.
More information on Sara Gazarek is available here.
The University Jazz Ensemble and Dr. David Deacon-Joyner
The
University Jazz Ensemble is a jazz big band, varying in instrumentation
according to repertoire. The ensemble performs regularly on the PLU
campus, at jazz venues in the Puget Sound area, regional high schools,
and national jazz festivals. The ensemble performs jazz big band
repertoire from all eras of the music, from Duke Ellington to Maria
Schneider, and covers all styles of jazz from early swing to jazz/rock.
Dr. David Deacon-Joyner is Director of Jazz Studies and Associate
Professor of Music at PLU. A scholar in jazz and popular music, he has
written numerous published articles and books, including a chapter for The Cambridge History of American Music and the third edition of his history text American Popular Music,
published by McGraw-Hill. Dr. Joyner has performed with jazz artists
such as Bobby Shew, Marvin Stamm, Marc Johnson, Ed Soph, and others. He
is a professional vocalist in both studio and live settings, and is a
composer and arranger.
|
|
|
