Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival 1999

The guest artists will also work with individual high school jazz bands in a series of jazz workshops. For information on the workshops, contact the festival organizer, Scott Garlock, associate professor of music at Knox College, at 309-341-7265, or via e-mailto:sgarlock@knox.edu.

Festival Schedule:

• Thursday, March 11 -- 8 p.m., Knox Faculty and Friends - featuring Scott Garlock, trombone; Larry Harms, saxophone; Kevin Hart, drums; Manny Lopez, trumpet; Kevin Malley, saxophone; Joe Metzka, guitar; and Ron Wilson, bass. Cherry Street Brewing Company. Admission $4 at the door.
• Friday March 12, 7:30-10 p.m., Rob McConnell, Mark Vinci and Bobby Shew; 8:30-11 p.m., Orquesta de Jazz y Salsa Alto Maiz; Cherry Street Brewing Company. Admission $10 at the door.
• Saturday, March 13, 9:30 a.m., Harbach Theatre, Knox College; High school jazz workshops. Admission $2 at the door.
• Saturday, March 13, 7:30 p.m., Harbach Theatre. The Knox College Jazz Ensemble, with guest artists. Admission $5 at the door.

Rob McConnell, an acclaimed trombonist, has made more than 30 albums in a career that began in 1968 with his first record, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass. A native of Canada, McConnell has won two Grammy Awards, twelve Grammy nominations and four Juno Awards.

Bobby Shew has played trumpet with leading jazz ensembles and artists, including the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Benny Goodman, Louie Bellson, Ed Shaughnessy, the Buddy Rich Big Band, Maynard Ferguson, Neal Hefti and the Horace Silver Quartet. His studio work has been featured in television shows such as Hawaii 5-0, Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart, and on soundtracks for Grease, Rocky and several other films.

Saxophonist Mark Vinci has performed with famous jazz bands, including Woody Herman, Gerry Mulligan, and with individual artists, such as Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Benny Carter and Clark Terry. He teaches at Skidmore College and has also performed in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland.

Orquesta de Jazz y Salsa Alto Maiz, based in Iowa City, returns to the Rootabaga Jazz Festival to play a wide range of Latin styles including the merrengue, samba, cha-cha, salsa, Afro-Cuban and punta. The group features Bob Washnut, Steve Grismore, Forest Stewart in the rhythm section; Edgar East, Dan Hummel, and Paul Cunliffe, percussion; Al Naylor, Brent Sandy, Rich Medd, and Bob Thompson, horns; and Tom Barry, sound engineer.

Organized by Scott Garlock, associate professor of music at Knox College, the Rootabaga Jamm Jazz Festival annually brings top jazz musicians and educators to Galesburg. Garlock, a trombonist, has performed with leading jazz bands and has directed the Knox Jazz Ensemble to six consecutive championships at the Western Illinois University Jazz Festival. A member of the Knox faculty since 1990, he has a doctorate in music from the University of Iowa.

Founded in 1837, Knox is an independent, four-year, liberal arts college, located in Galesburg, Illinois, with 1,100 students from 42 states and 33 nations. Knox's "Old Main," a National Historic Landmark, is the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.

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