The ABAC Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Choir will perform on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in Howard Auditorium on the campus of ABAC. This concert is open to the public at no charge.

The Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Choir at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will present an evening of jazz music on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in Howard Auditorium on the campus of ABAC.  Sponsored by the ABAC Music Program in the School of Liberal Arts, this concert is open to the public at no charge.

Led by Director of Jazz Studies Donald Coates, the Jazz Ensemble will perform a variety of jazz selections, featuring a range of styles from swing, ballads, Latin and jazz-fusion arrangements, and original compositions.  

A fast swinging riff-oriented blues chart, “A Nasty Bit of Blues” by Doug Beach, with sophisticated re-harmonizing and modern-sounding horn voicing, opens the evening.  The Jazz Ensemble will also feature two compositions by legendary Count Basie Orchestra composer Sammy Nestico in his arrangement of the 1941 ballad classic “Lover Man,” followed by his 2009 Grammy-nominated jazz samba recording of “Out Of the Night.”

“Sugar Train,” a straight-ahead swing tune dedicated to Stanley Turrentine and John Coltrane, will be the next selection, followed by “Freedom Jazz Dance,” a jazz-funk standard arranged by contemporary composer Eric Richards.

The final selection of the night will feature the percussionists of the band in “Peaceful Thunder,” an arrangement written for the legendary drummer Louie Bellson.

The second half of the concert will spotlight the members of the ABAC Jazz Choir, an auditioned group of singers from within the ABAC Concert Choir, directed by Susan Roe, professor of voice, director of choral music, and music chair.  

The choir will begin with Dave and Iola Brubeck’s “Take Five” arranged by Kirby Shaw, followed by “Fly Me to the Moon” by Bart Howard and arranged by Kirby Shaw.  The choir will be accompanied by the ABAC Jazz Ensemble rhythm section and Douglas Jurs, assistant professor of theory and piano at ABAC.  

Soloists Terrence Gibson, a freshman music vocal major from Baxley, and Kezia Green, a sophomore vocal music major from Sylvester, will be featured with the jazz choir on Hoagy Carmichael’s classic, “Georgia On My Mind,” arranged by Kirby Shaw.  The group will end its portion of the concert with Bob Russell and Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” arranged by Mark Hayes.

For more information on this concert, interested persons can contact Roe at (229) 391-4943.