Georgia College & State University’s Music Department and Allied Arts hosted the 36th annual Art and Jazz Fest on April 26 at the university’s front campus.
The event was also live-streamed on the GCSU music department’s Facebook page.
The Putnam County High School Jazz Ensemble was among three high school jazz bands to perform multiple selections during the evening. The others were the Baldwin High School Jazz Band and a band from Davidson Fine Arts.
Putnam County students played a song titled “Moanin’,” by Bobby Timmons, as well as a swing piece entitled “Fat Cat” that they had been practicing all year to perform. They also played “Bad Dog,” a Brazilian rhythm piece, and closed their set with “Chameleon,” by Herbie Hancock.
“I tell [the students] that if they are proficient on their instruments, they can go anywhere they want to go and play in anybody’s band,” Putnam County band director Thetheus White said. “I try to expose them to as many different styles of jazz as possible, so they’ll be well-rounded.”
GCSU’s Porter Combo opened the festival with a selection from Duke Ellington and played for around 25 minutes. The McComb Combo followed and played for another 25 minutes.
The GCSU Alumni Band also performed with Carl Allen, a world-renowned drummer, to close out the night with a few compositions written by Allen, ending with his piece, “Relativity.”
Clifford Towner, director of band activities at GCSU, said he’s happy to see the festival continuing for more than three-and-a-half decades.
“It brings jazz to Milledgeville,” Towner said. “We have a lot of people who like jazz. We don’t have a jazz club. So, this is kind of one of the few opportunities there is outside of some of the jams we do over at Amici’s. This festival is kind of our big give back for our jazz program, to bring jazz to the community.”