Three jazz enthusiasts, musicians and longtime friends will be featured in the first of Urbana-Champaign’s Community Center for the Arts’ sponsored series, Jazz Talks, Saturday, November 23 at Iron Post.
Following their graduation from the acclaimed jazz program at North Texas State University, Morgan Powell, Thomas ‘Shab’ Wirtel and Gary Peyton individually graced Urbana-Champaign as key contributors to the local jazz scene. In recognizing the value of these stories, C4A’s goal is “to share and archive these rich experiences with the many that comprise the local jazz scene.” C4A’s board director Robin Kearton says, “People love stories, especially about things that interest them. Knowing where we came from is one of the keys to appreciating more fully where we are.”
The series will explore and celebrate the deep roots of jazz traditions reminiscent to the U-C jazz scene. C4A narrates these communal accounts: “Many remember gathering at places such as Trino’s, Red Herring, Nature’s Table and Mabel’s, where music and friends could be found at almost any hour of the day or night. Others remember connections to the jazz program at the University of Illinois, with its many jazz bands and their leader, John Garvey.” C4A board member Rex Gaskins said the first event will focus on the panel members’ shared experiences in their early days as students at North Texas State University.
Powell, Wirtel and Peyton each are contemporary jazz performers in various ensembles, including one that they are collectively a part of — Boneyard Jazz Quintet. The group performs locally and coins themselves as “friends who enjoy performing together.” Powell and Mike Gabriel formed the group in 1990.
Powell, award-winning composer, jazz trombonist and former professor emeritus of composition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has graced the jazz genre with his unique approach to improvisation.
“Whether composing or performing jazz, intricately composed works or free improvisation, making music continues to be a wonderful life of work and play,” Powell said. Powell applied the avant-gardist music education he received from North Texas State University to the new music, experimental techniques he absorbed later at University of Illinois.
Wirtel, jazz trumpeter, music teacher, conductor of the Parkland Community College “In Your Ear Big Band,” and former head of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s jazz division, began playing with Boneyard Jazz Quintet in 2004. Peyton, a longtime friend from North Texas State University band days, joined as drummer for the group in 2009.
Mediated by local artist and jazz aficionado Tom Faux, the Jazz Talks will commence at 6:00 pm at the Iron Post in Urbana. The event will serve to detail the background of just one element of U-C’s rich musical culture — the deep roots of jazz traditions.
C4A invites the community to join Powell, Wirtel and Peyton in the conversation and welcomes jazz lovers to simmer in an evening of entertainment fired by respect, love and exploration for the music they so enjoy. The event’s $10 cover charge will support C4A in continuing to enable and foster Urbana-Champaign access, education and experiences in the arts.