GALESBURG -- The Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival, March 11-13, will feature performances by acclaimed saxophonist Greg Osby, jazz-bluegrass guitarist Doug Wamble, the award-winning Knox Jazz Ensemble, the Knox Faculty and Friends Combo, and the Knox Alumni Big Band.

Now in its 24th season, the Rootabaga Jazz Festival is named after the collection "Rootabaga Stories" by Galesburg native author Carl Sandburg.

Past performers at the Rootabaga Festival have included Kurt Elling, Mose Allison, Benny Green, Zach Brock, Bobby Shew, Joey DeFrancesco, Matt Wilson Trio, The Hornheads, Curtis Fuller, Tony Monaco, Orbert Davis, Mark Colby, Rob McConnell, Mark Vinci, the Jae Sinnett Trio, Rich Shanklin, Mike Pagan, Rob Parton, and Orquesta de Jazz y Salsa Alto Maiz.

Tickets are available at the door for each event, or in advance at the Orpheum Theatre Box Office, 60 S. Kellogg, Galesburg, 309 342 2299.

Rootabaga Jazz Festival 2004 Schedule of Events

Thursday, March 11
8 p.m. - 12 a.m. in the Cherry St. Bier Garten
Knox Faculty and Friends Combo
Andy Crawford, bass; Cassie Hart, saxophone; Kevin Malley, saxophone; Steve Little, trumpet; Dave Hoffman, piano & trumpet; Kevin Hart, drums; Nikki Whittaker, vibraphone

• Thursday Night Admission: $7 at the door

Friday, March 12
8 -9 p.m. in the Cherry St. Party Room
Knox College Alumni Big Band, directed by Scott Garlock

9 p.m. -12 a.m. in the Cherry St. Bier Garten
Doug Wamble Quartet
Doug Wamble, guitar & vocals; Roy Dunlap, piano; Jeff Hanley, bass; Peter Miles, drums & percussion

• Friday Night Admission: $10 at the door for all Friday night events

Saturday, March 13

10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Orpheum Theatre
High School Workshops
Area schools jazz bands perform and work with the Greg Osby Quartet

• Saturday Day Admission: $3 at the door

7:30 p.m., Orpheum Theatre
Knox College Jazz Ensemble
The Greg Osby Quartet

• Saturday Night Admission: Main floor $15; Balcony $12; Student tickets half-price, at the door

Three-Day Festival Pass: $30 for all events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday

About the Featured Artists
Greg Osby has been a progressive force in jazz for nearly 20 years, drawing on experiences as a child in inner city St. Louis as inspiration for his music. Osby served his jazz apprenticeship in New York City with such renowned musicians as Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, McCoy Tyner and the World Saxophone Quartet before emerging as a force of his own with Jack DeJohnette's innovative group Special Edition in 1985.

Osby signed his first recording contract in 1987, recording four CDs with the German label, JMT (Jazz Music Today). In 1990, he signed with Blue Note, recording 11 titles in a variety of styles for the premiere jazz label.

"One of our primary goals is to create a music that is a vivid reflection of the immediacy and feel of the urban areas from which it was spawned," Osby writes on his web site. BBC Radio said that "some of his finest, most inspired soloing unites the angular lines and edgy rhythms of his earlier days with the flowing swing of bebop."

Osby will be performing at the Rootabaga Festival with his newest group, the Greg Osby Four, consisting of Megumi Yonezawa on piano, Matt Brewer on bass, and Eric McPherson on drums. Osby is slated to headline a six night stand at New York's legendary Village Vanguard in June.

Doug Wamble, born in Clarksville, Mississippi, and raised in Memphis, combines influences from his roots in blues, gospel, jazz, and popular song to create a style that is impossible to characterize. Wamble's first release, "Country Libations," is the first release on the Marsalis Music label by a non-Marsalis family member. The CD features an all-acoustic mix of jazz, delta blues, country and gospel music on which Wamble is backed by longtime James Blood Ulmer collaborator Charlie Burnham on violin, plus Roy Dunlap on piano, Jeff Hanley on bass, and Peter Miles on drums. The CD was described by the Denver Post as "laid-back, bluesy crooning and earthy country-meets swing."

Wamble has performed in the past with such artists as Wynton and Branford Marsalis, as well as Cassandra Wilson. Wamble also credits influences from Harry Connick, Jr., Ornette Coleman, Charlie Christian, and Pat Metheny.

The Knox College Jazz Ensemble has won top honors at the Western Illinois University Jazz Competition and the University of North Texas Jazz Festival. The ensemble has recorded four CDs and the ensemble's featured combo performs weekly at the Cherry Street Bier Garten in Galesburg. The ensemble is directed by Nicole Whittaker, visiting instructor in music.

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 46 states and 50 nations. Knox's "Old Main" is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.

Greg Osby

Doug Wamble

Knox Jazz Ensemble

Knox Jazz Ensemble at the Rootabaga Jazz Fest 2004.

Greg Osby

Doug Wamble