Announcing the Second Annual Bill Evans Festival at SELU, Hammond, LA, USA, Feb 20-22, 2003

The late, great jazz pianist, seven-time Grammy Award winner, and SLU alumnus Bill Evans was the most influential jazz pianist of his generation. The second annual Bill Evans Jazz Festival will take place February 20-22, 2003 and will include:

Grammy Award-winning pianist George Winston, one of the best known and most loved jazz pianists of our time (Columbia Theater for the Performing Arts Presentation).

The Eddie Gomez Jazz Trio, with Eddie Gomez, bassist, Stefan Karlsson, pianist, and Jimmy Cobb, drummer. Legendary bassist Eddie Gomez has been on the cutting edge of the jazz scene since his debut in the mid-1960s. His impressive resume includes performances with jazz giants such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Benny Goodman, Chick Corea, and for eleven years he was a member of the Bill Evans Trio. Eddie Gomez's unique sound and style can be heard on hundreds of recordings spanning the worlds of jazz, classical, Latin jazz, and popular music. (This program is supported in part by funds from the Louisiana State Arts Council and the Louisiana Division of the Arts, and by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge through the Decentralized Arts Funding Program)

This year's artists include:

The Eddie Gomez Trio

Eddie Gomez, one of the most respected bassists in jazz and a Stretch and King Records recording artist, has performed with some of the best jazz musicians in the world, including Gary McFarland, Marian McPartland, Paul Bley, Chick Corea, Michael Brecker and Gerry Mulligan. For almost a dozen years, he was a member of the Bill Evans Trio. Born in Puerto Rico, he attended the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan and studied at the Juilliard School.

Jimmy Cobb's career reads like a who's who in music, having played drums for some of music's greatest names including Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery, Pearl Bailey, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washinton, Sarah Vaughn, Cannonball Adderley, Stan Getz, and Dizzy Gillespie. The record, “Kind of Blue," that Cobb, Evans, and Miles Davis did together made jazz history.

Stefan Karlsson has been part of Eddie Gomez's Trio since 1996. He was born in Vastervik, Sweden and earned both a bachelor and master's degree in music from the University of North Texas. An assistant professor of music at UNLV, he directs the UNLV Jazz Ensemble II and teaches various jazz music courses. His musical compositions have been featured in hit TV shows such as “Melrose Place" and “Party of Five." His most recent recording, “Music Box," is due out this spring on Troppe Notte/Cambria Master Recordings. The trio recently returned from a tour of 22 concerts throughout Japan where they promoted their recording on King Records called “Dedication."

George Winston

While his solo piano recordings since 1980 have mainly focused on the seasons of Montana, PLAINS continued in the vein of his 1994 solo piano album FOREST. He originally conceived of an album called FOREST AND PLAINS contrasting the two regions, before realizing he wanted to give each its own full recording. PLAINS especially draws on his childhood memories of Montana as well as his present feelings. In many ways, even on his earlier albums with the season themes the Plains have been a deep inspiration for everything he has done. Considering himself much more an interpreter of songs than a composer, George's purpose with each recording is to include the most appropriate instrumental pieces. On PLAINS, he complements his original songs: Plains (Eastern Montana Blues), Graduation and Cloudburst - with his arrangements of tunes ranging from Hawaiian pieces such as No Ke Ano Ahi Ahi, and Ike Ia Ladana (Queen's Jubilee), to Chet Atkins' Waltz For the Lonely and interpretations of old and new standards like Teach Me Tonight, Sarah McLachlan's Angel and The Dance, popularized by Garth Brooks.

Several other guest musicians and ensembles will perform throughout the festival.

For more information call 985-549-2184.