The Evolution of Jazz

featuring the Dorian May Trio

with special guest, Francis Vanek

Saturday, September 14, 2024, 4-5:30 pm

The Evolution of Jazz is a comprehensive concert and accompanying narration outlining the creation and evolution of America’s true art form- Jazz - in a historical context. Narrative performances will chronicle the development and evolution of the major styles, including the earliest emerging styles, including blues and collective improvisation up to the modern styles.

Saxophonist Francis Vanek, who has played in bands with Roger Humphries and J.C. Moses, has shared the bandstand with such saxophone stalwarts as Ernie Watts, Tom Scott and Eddie Daniels, and he studied with the great Carl Arter. Jesse Hamlin of the SF Chronicle said of him, “…a superb saxophonist." He hails from Pittsburgh, PA, where he attended Duquesne University, and he has a master’s degree in music from University of Nevada, Reno, where he later joined the Jazz faculty, teaching Jazz Improvisation and classes in Music History.