BEMIDJI, Minn. — Jazz trumpeter Sean Jones who was named Best New Artist in 2007 by “Jazz Times Magazine” will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 5, as a special event presented by the Bemidji State University Department of Music. Jones will be accompanie by the Bemidji Jazz Quartet and BSU Jazz I.

The concert will be held in the Thompson Recital Hall of the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $5 for all students. Tickets may be purchased at the BSU Department of Music or Lueken’s Village Foods North. If available, tickets also will be sold at the door.

Jones, who plays lead trumpet with legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis in the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, is hailed for his showmanship, as well as his exceptional music. In 2007, the Jazz Journalist Association also nominated him as Trumpeter of the Year. Jeffrey Epstein wrote at jazzreview.com: “…Jones travels on his trumpet from a full blow, complete with Dizzy Gillespie-like cheeks, to the quietest, gentlest sounds that hardly seem able to come from a trumpet.”

A native of Warren, Ohio, Jones grew up with the music of the church, which still influences his musical style. His repertoire includes a mix of modern bop, funk/soul and gospel embracing sounds that bridge cultures, generations and races. A composer and musician, Jones has tracked five albums with Mark Avenue Records, making his 2004 solo debut, “Eternal Journey,” when he was 25 years old. His fourth album, “Kaleidoscope,” is a showcase of a new generation of voices and instruments, and includes his newly expanded sextet. His fifth album, “Transitions,” has yet to be released.

This summer, Jones toured with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and performed with “Downbeat’s Rising Stars,” an all-star line up of five horns hosted by the Minneapolis Orchestra Pops at Orchestra Hall in June. He has performed in numerous venues nationally and internationally and was featured in the January 2008 issue of “Jazz Times Magazine.” When he’s not on the road or recording, Jones serves as a professor of trumpet and jazz studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

In addition to the concert, Jones will teach the BSU trumpet studio from March 4-6. The studio sessions with guest artists give students the opportunity to learn from working musicians.

Samples of Jones’ music and more information about the artist are available at www.seanjonesmusic.com.

Proceeds from the Jones concert will support the Bemidji Concert Series Endowment, a fund of the BSU Foundation. The endowment helps fund the Bemidji Concert Series, which is dedicated to making Bemidji the cultural center for northern Minnesota and providing the Bemidji region with music that could not commonly be heard without traveling to the Twin Cities.

For more information, contact the Department of Music at (218) 755-2915.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR
March 5 – 7:30 p.m. Jazz trumpeter Sean Jones in a special concert presented by Bemidji State University Department of Music. Location: Thompson Recital Hall of the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex, BSU campus. Admission: $20 for the general public and $5 for all students.