Jazz at Southeast Missouri State University has been active for more than 20 years and consists of both big-band and combo-performance opportunities. Classes also are available in jazz improvisation as well as independent study in jazz theory and history. Southeast has two jazz ensembles, which include both music majors and non-majors. Auditions for membership in Southeast jazz ensembles take place during the first week of classes in the fall semester.
For our 2011-2012 season, we invite you to join our Jazz Series, featuring three great concerts at the fabulous Bedell Performance Hall.
Friday, October 26, 2012 “Meet the Band!”
Southeast’s two outstanding big bands will present a wonderful selection of jazz music which will feature student members of the band. Come and enjoy the electricity generated by live jazz in the finest performance hall in the Bootheel! Our outstanding student soloists will be highlighted in a program of great jazz tunes! Come on out and enjoy a wonderful evening of exciting jazz and blues in the tremendous venue of Bedell Performance Hall.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Clark Terry/Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival Gala Concert Reggie Thomas, piano soloist
Join Southeast’s Studio Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band for our annual Clark Terry/Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival Gala Concert in Bedell Performance Hall. Prepare for an evening of exciting jazz as the great pianist Reggie Thomas will join our students in this highly anticipated jazz performance. He regularly appears as a guest artist at collegiate jazz festivals around the country, including those hosted by Lawrence University, the University of South Florida, and Texas Tech University. He has also performed internationally in Canada, Italy, Poland, Senegal, and England. He can be seen fronting his own groups (Mardra/Reggie Thomas Ensemble; OGD) on both piano and Hammond organ and performing with other artists including Ann Hampton Callaway and the Carl Allen/Rodney Whitaker Project. His recordings include work with Clay Jenkins, Kim Richmond, and Clark Terry/Mike Vax, as well as his own recordings "Fade to Blue" with his wife, Mardra (MaxJazz), "Standard Time" (Victoria) and "4" (Jazz Compass). He is also a consultant/clinician for Jazz at Lincoln Center, working with the Essentially Ellington Program and the Band Director Academy.
Thursday, April 25, 2013,
Spring Jazz Concert “Bluer than Blue"
For our final concert of the year, our bands will showcase their extraordinary talents for your listening pleasure. Southeast’s two fabulous big bands will present a concert of jazz tunes which cover a wide range of crossover styles. Be prepared to feel the electricity of the music as the musicians show off their versatility in their soloing as well as full band sounds!
Call the Southeast Box Office (651-2265) for more information!
The Jazz Program at Southeast
The Southeast jazz program is under the direction of Robert Conger, whose past experience includes membership in the famed One O’ Clock band at North Texas State University. Our two big bands, Studio Jazz and Jazz Lab, perform a wide array of contemporary and standard big-band literature in a variety of styles. The combos and big bands perform on and off campus three to four times per semester. Our students have performed with guest artists such as Tony Baker, Clark Terry, Mike Metheny, Joe Eckert, Jim Manley, Allen Beeson, Jim Pisano, Daniel Jordan, Pat Schwent, Rodney Lancaster, Mark Zauss, Clint Ashlock, Carol Comer, Arch Martin, Wayne Goins and Jim Widner.
The bands perform at various University events such as the popular ‘Clark Terry / Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival’ presented each February as well at least twice per semester at the Buckner Brewing Company, a very intimate downtown pub in Cape Girardeau. Our Studio Jazz Ensemble recently traveled to Scotland during August of 2008 to participate in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival.
We have two big bands, Studio Jazz and the Jazz Lab Band. Students who are interested in auditioning for Studio Jazz should have prior experience in a jazz program, woodwind doubling skills (saxes only) and solo experience. The Jazz Lab Band is open to all students (no audition required) with an interest in improving their skills in big band jazz and improvisation. Improvisation skills are developed in this ensemble, although they are not required as a pre-requisite. Jazz Combos are groups of jazz student musicians committed to the performance of small-group jazz improvisation. These groups perform at various University and community social events throughout the academic year.
Contact Information
Dr. Robert B. Conger
Jazz Studies Director
Phone: (573) 651-2398
Fax: (573) 651-2431
E-mail: rconger@semo.edu