Artists for 44th Annual Pitt Jazz Seminar and Concert Announced

An exciting lineup is in place for the 44th annual University of Pittsburgh Jazz Seminar and Concert, the longest-running event of its kind in the United States.

Pitt Jazz Week—which comprises free on-campus seminars, performances at community venues, and the Nov. 1 concert at Carnegie Music Hall—will run from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1.

Under the direction of internationally renowned pianist, composer, and Pitt Jazz Studies Program director Geri Allen, the following artists are scheduled to participate:

Clifton Anderson, trombonist, who toured with Sonny Rollins for years and is one of the most in-demand session musicians;

Terri Lyne Carrington, drummer, composer, and producer, who earlier this year became the first female artist to win a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for her 2013 album Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue;

Tia Fuller, alto saxophonist and composer and a member of the all-female band that toured with the Beyoncé Experience World Tour in 2006-07;

Joe Lovano, tenor saxophonist, who has recorded or performed with just about every jazz great within the 20th century;

Esperanza Spalding, bassist, cellist, and singer, who in 2011 became the first jazz performer ever to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist; and

Afro Blue, Howard University’s premier vocal a cappella jazz ensemble, whose members have won awards from DownBeat magazine and have competed on a national level on NBC-TV’s The Sing-Off.

Allen, Carrington, and Spalding have been touring internationally as the ACS Trio.

More details about Pitt Jazz Week will be announced in the coming weeks.

Allen is continuing the legacy of Pitt Professor Emeritus of Music Nathan Davis, the former director and founder of the Pitt Jazz Seminar and Concert, who retired in the summer of 2013. The Jazz Studies Program is based in the Department of Music in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.