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The WP Jazz Room Spring 2022 Series continues its tradition of widely
varied programs across the jazz spectrum featuring world-class
artists that embody virtuosity, innovation, diversity, and legacy.
Outstanding William Paterson student jazz ensembles open each
concert. All performances take place in the Shea Center for Performing Arts.
Each Jazz Room concert is preceded by a Sittin’ In Meet-the-Artist session one hour prior to each
performance in Shea Recital Hall. Free to all ticket holders. Audience members have a
chance to meet and interact with that day’s artist in a
question-answer format.
Admission: $15 General Public • $12 William Paterson employees,
alumni, and senior citizens • $8 Non-William Paterson students • Free for WP students with valid
I.D. • Additional $3 charge per ticket on the
day of performance
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Jazzmeia Horn
FEBRUARY 20, 4:00 PM
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One of today’s leading jazz vocalists,
Jazzmeia Horn grew up in Dallas and went from the famous Booker T.
Washington Arts High School to the New School in New York, and was
soon mentored by jazz vocal legends Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, and
Bobby McFerrin. After remarkably winning both the 2013 Sarah Vaughn
Vocal Competition, and the 2015 Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition,
she was signed to Concord Records. She has been nominated for Grammy
Awards for two of her solo albums and brings her emotionally
powerful voice to open this spring’s Jazz Room Series.
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Randy Brecker with the WP Jazz Orchestra
MARCH 6, 4:00 PM
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Legendary trumpeter Randy Brecker
combines forces with the powerful WP Jazz Orchestra. The concert will
feature music spanning Brecker’s well-known career, which includes
his virtuoso playing on bebop, standards, funk, and R&B from the
historic Brecker Brothers repertoire with his late brother, master
saxophonist Michael Brecker, whose archive is housed on campus. This
concert will feature premieres of two new arrangements of Brecker
originals by WP graduate arranging students, and new arrangements
from Brecker’s recent CD with the Hamburg Radio Jazz Orchestra. The
concert is certain to be memorable, with Brecker’s long association
with the WP students and our program.
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The Royal Bopsters
MARCH 27, 4:00 PM
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Voted the #1 jazz vocal group in the
country in the 2021 Jazz Times Critics’ Poll, this
virtuoso jazz vocal quartet, formed in 2012, bring a new and
refreshing approach to the art of vocal jazz. Amy London, Jeanne
O’Connor, Dylan Pramuk, and our own WP faculty member and Jazz Room
co-producer Pete McGuinness, pay tribute to their jazz heroes through
intricate harmonies and wonderful energy. The Bopsters delve into
vocal improvisation; vocalese, the art of penning lyrics to
instrumental jazz solos; and their original songs and arrangements
further the tradition of modern jazz, bebop, and the blues. Their
latest release, Party of Four, allows them to swing
deeply while singing precise vocal harmonies.
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Christian Sands Trio
APRIL 3, 4:00 PM
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Sands brings his inventive and
swinging approach to the Jazz Room stage with his top-level trio. He
was mentored by Dr. Billy Taylor, who featured him early on a WP
Summer Jazz performance; former WP jazz director Mulgrew Miller was
also a great proponent of Sands’ talents. He has been here several
times for our students, but this is his first Jazz Room performance,
which will be packed with the history of jazz and blues. Sands has
been featured with such jazz giants as Wynton Marsalis, Christian
McBride, Ulysses Owens, and Gregory Porter. This five-time Grammy
nominee’s creative approach to the piano trio tradition will make for
an exciting concert.
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WP Latin Jazz Ensemble with
Saxophonist Leo Johnson
APRIL 10, 4:00 PM
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Saxophonist Leo Johnson is one of the
true elders of the Newark jazz tradition, maintaining a broad career
in the Latin and jazz worlds for decades. He has played in the bands
of organists Bill Doggett, Rhoda Scott, Jack McDuff, and Jimmy
McGriff, and one led by WP Latin jazz director Chico Mendoza. He was
musical director for vocalist Jimmy Scott, and has mentored numerous
musicians including Cassandra Wilson, Phillip Harper, and Pulitzer
Prize winner Terence Blanchard. This concert combines Johnson’s long
history with the students of WP’s Latin Jazz Ensemble, an unbeatable
combination.
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Artemis featuring Renee Rosnes, Anat
Cohen, Ingrid Jensen, Nicole Glover, Noriko Ueda, and Allison Miller
MAY 8, 4:00 PM
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The fantastic finale of this season
brings to our stage a true supergroup, one of the most in-demand
ensembles on today’s jazz scene, appearing worldwide and at the top
of many reader and critics’ polls. Artemis features arrangements and
original compositions by several of the members, which are a vehicle
for their unique sound. Their much-acclaimed debut recording is on
the prestigious Blue Note label, and they were featured at the Newport
Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and on NPR’s Jazz
Night in America. Each member is a bandleader and unique voice in
their own right, and their combined repertoire is reshaping today’s
jazz world.
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These events are being sold at full
capacity. Please take your personal comfort level into consideration
prior to purchasing tickets. Please click here for our latest COVID-19 health
and safety protocols. We strongly encourage buying tickets in advance
online or by calling the box office.
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In an effort to provide the tools
necessary for student success in the music program and for the
University to continue to provide outstanding public performances, The WP 88 Keys Campaign is designed to support the purchase and maintenance of a
new Steinway piano for the Shea Center for the Performing Arts. To
learn more, please click here to visit The WP 88 Keys Campaign website.
If you are interested, please contact
Maureen O’Connor at oconnorm24@wpunj.edu or 973.720.3990. For general support of the campaign, click the donate
button and choose WP 88 Keys Campaign as your gift designation.
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Shea Center for Performing Arts |
973.720.2371 |
wp-presents.org
Shea Center Box Office
Hours of Operation
Monday - Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00
p.m.
Email: boxoffice@wpunj.edu
Wayne, NJ
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No refunds or exchanges. All sales are
final. All programs, artists, dates, policies, prices and times are
subject to change.
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WP Presents! programs are made
possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a
Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
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William Paterson University
300 Pompton Road
Wayne, New Jersey 07470
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