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William Paterson University Summer Jazz Series Features Legendary Jazz Saxophonist Jimmy Heath on July 25

--Week-long Summer Jazz Room series line-up also includes guitarist Paul Meyers and percussionist Vanderlei Pereira on July 21; the Philly Tenors on July 22; Vocalist Champian Fulton with the William Paterson University Summer Jazz Orchestra led by Steve Marcone on July 23; and Horacee Arnold on July 24

Jimmy Heath, the saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator, and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, will perform with William Paterson University alumnus Fred Hendrix on trumpet, and the Heath Brothers Quartet that includes his brother, Albert “Tootie” Heath on drums, David Wong on bass, and pianist Jeb Patton, as part of William Paterson University’s 21^st annual weeklong Summer Jazz Room Series on July 25 in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on the campus in Wayne. The series, which runs from July 21 to July 25, also includes guitarist Paul Meyers and percussionist Vanderlei Pereira with the William Paterson University Summer Jazz Workshop Quintet, the Philly Tenors, vocalist and pianist Champian Fulton with the William Paterson University Summer Jazz Orchestra led by Steve Marcone, and drummer Horacee Arnold.

The Summer Jazz Room Series features concerts every evening at 7:30 p.m. A $40 pass for the entire week may be purchased through Thursday, July 17 or single tickets may be purchased for $10. The weeklong series, which has drawn thousands of jazz fans to the University’s campus during the past 20 summers, is designed to make jazz more accessible to the community. The Summer Jazz Room coincides with the University’s 21^st annual Summer Jazz Workshop for interested middle and high school jazz students with Jimmy Heath as artist-in-residence. William Paterson University has been a flagship of jazz education for more than 40 years and is recognized internationally for its Jazz Studies Program and nationally acclaimed Jazz Room Series of concerts each fall and spring.

The series opens on Monday, July 21, with guitarist Paul Meyers and percussionist Vanderlei Pereira who will perform as part of the William Paterson University Summer Jazz Workshop Quintet. Meyers’s refined and eloquent performance techniques and compositions draw from Brazilian, Latin, and western classical music influences. Pereira is a master drummer and educator whose eclectic groove and colored shadings emanate from his deep familiarity with Brazilian music, straight-ahead, and Latin jazz. Meyers and Pereira will join William Paterson jazz faculty members Tim Newman on trombone, James Weidman on piano and Steve LaSpina on bass.

On Tuesday, July 22, tenor sax greats Larry McKenna, Bootsie Barnes and Tommy Gryce, known as the Philly Tenors, will evoke the jazz of Philadelphia—the cradle of the hard-driving, blues-laced music known as hard bop. These saxophonists represent more than five decades of performances, recordings and education.

The mid-week performance on Wednesday, July 23 showcases vocalist and pianist Champian Fulton with the William Paterson University Summer Jazz Orchestra led by Steve Marcone, William Paterson professor of music. Champian has been gigging regularly in New York-area venues since her 2006 graduation from SUNY Purchase Music Conservatory. She recorded her debut CD with David Berger and the Sultans of Swing, and her latest small group release, Champian Sings and Swings, features her piano playing in addition to her singing. The Summer Jazz Orchestra will feature top students from William Paterson University’s Jazz Studies Program.

Dynamic and versatile drummer Horacee Arnold will perform on Thursday, July 24. A Kentucky native, Arnold was brought to New York City in 1960 by his mentor Max Roach where he quickly established himself on the scene. His acclaimed 1974 recording, Tales of the Exonerated Flea, is one of the great jazz fusion albums of all time. For this performance in the Summer Jazz Room, Arnold brings with him his long-time friend and musical collaborator, Buster Williams, on bass.

William Paterson’s 21^st annual Summer Jazz Room Series is funded, in part, by grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. For more information, contact the Shea Center Box Office at 973-720-2371 or visit www.wplive.org.