Jazz retrospective planned at Pitt State

Apr. 18—PITTSBURG, Kan. — Several music groups and musicians will celebrate National Jazz Appreciation Month with a free concert, "Jazz and PSU in Retrospective," at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, 1711 S. Homer.

"We have a very special performance planned that will trace the history of PSU and of jazz, America's musical art form," music professor Robert Kehle said in a statement.

The concert will feature performances by the PSU jazz ensemble, directed by Kehle, and the Crossroads Jazz Orchestra, directed by professor Todd Hastings.

The audience can expect to hear such tunes as Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer," performed on the Steinway by graduate music performance student Isaac Hernandez; "When the Saints Go Marching In" by a New Orleans-style jazz band; and other hits such as "Sentimental Journey," "Sing Sing Sing," "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "Take the A Train," "Fly Me To the Moon," "The Girl from Ipanema" and more.

"We'll take you from the origins of jazz in rural blues through to contemporary jazz sounds," Kehle said. "We'll also explore the history of PSU through photos, from the early years of its founding in 1903 to today's look, all narrated by PSU President Dan Shipp."

Special guest musician is Lemual Sheppard, a guitarist and singer who performs traditional music, folk and jazz. He has performed nationally and at many regional and international music festivals. He was a national finalist in the Telluride Blues Contest and is a member of the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame, and a congressional committee selected him to represent Kansas on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center.