Jazz Ensembles to Perform with Guest Drummer

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — A concert with Illinois Wesleyan’s Jazz Ensemble and vocal jazz group Unlicensed Syncopation will feature guest artist Tony Martucci on Tuesday, April 16 at 8 p.m. in Presser Hall’s Westbrook Auditorium (1210 N. Park Street). This event is free and open to the public.

The Jazz Ensemble’s lineup for the concert includes: Message from Westlake by Mike Kamuf, Semi-Mental Journey by Jim Martin, I’ll Take Les by John Scofield, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square by Manning Sherwin, General Rodney by Chris Potter, For Lena and Lenny by Quincy Jones and Any Dude’ll Do by Bill Holman.

Unlicensed Syncopation will perform from the following selections: Sometimes I’m Happy, Young and Foolish, This Little Light of Mine, Before I Gaze at You Again and Inherently Dangerous. The two groups will then combine to perform Sing, Sing, Sing by Prima, Eldrige and Meader, arranged by Meader.

Toni Martucci, adjunct professor of drum at Virginia Commonwealth University, will perform alongside the Jazz Ensemble and Unlicensed Syncopation. During his decades-long career, Martucci has founded a number of ensembles and jazz groups, performed at international festivals and presented drum master classes at a variety of institutions. He has worked alongside many notable artists, including tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, and has played at the Smithsonian Institute, the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.

By Rachel McCarthy ’21