Saxophonist and clarinetist Victor Goines brings New Orleans style to the Emory Annual Jazz Fest, Feb. 7-9. Kicking off with residency activities on Thursday, Feb. 7, Jazz Fest features Goines in a concert on Friday, Feb. 8. Pianist Gary Motley, director of Jazz studies at Emory, will join him.
Friday evening will also include master bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Terreon Gully, percussionist with vocalist Diane Reeves. The evening will be one of "swing and delight," says Motley.
"Steeped in the New Orleans tradition, Goines is a skilled craftsman and imaginative storyteller. His sense of lyricism and swing are a powerful combination that make him one of the most unique voices of his generation . . . it's easy to see why he has been an ever-present musical companion to Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra," he says.
Big Band Night follows, on Saturday, Feb. 9. Goines, along with Motley, Whitaker and Gully, will perform with the Emory Big Band and the Emory University Symphony Orchestra.
They will present an evening of lively big band tunes and the world premiere of "Enlightenment: A Journey in Discovery," a piece composed by Motley and written for string orchestra, big band and jazz quartet. Ninety musicians will perform. Composed in honor of the Schwartz Center’s 10th anniversary, the work addresses the mystery and intrigue of jazz.
The 2013 Emory Jazz Fest will be held at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. On Thursday, Feb. 7, free public events include an improv class with Rodney Whitaker and Terreon Gully at 10 a.m. in Tharp Rehearsal Hall at the Schwartz Center and a master class with Victor Goines at 2:30 p.m. in Emerson Concert Hall of the Schwartz Center.
Tickets for the Feb. 8 show with Goines are $20; $15 discount category members; $5 students. The Big Band Night on Feb. 9 is free. Details at arts.emory.edu/jazz.