Free jazz concert coming to West Chester on Nov. 5

WEST CHESTER » The West Chester University’s Wells School of Music presents the Criterions Jazz Ensemble featuring world renowned jazz pianist Orrin Evans.

The ensemble will perform with Evans on Friday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre, Swope Music Building and Performing Arts Center, 817 S. High Street, West Chester. Jonathan Ragonese directs.

Philadelphia-based Orrin Evans is a jazz pianist, composer and bandleader. He has been categorized as a bebop player, and one of the “young lions” that emerged in the 1990s. He has recorded more than 25 albums.

For the Nov. 5 concert, the 17 ensemble members will perform selections of Evans’s recordings with the Captain Black Big Band. Evans will rehearse with the ensemble leading up to the concert and perform alongside them that evening. He will also do a public Master Class at 11 a.m. in the Wells School of Music’s Ware Recital Hall on Monday, Nov. 5.

Director of the Criterions Jonathan Ragonese says, “Working and performing alongside a guest artist of Evans’s caliber is an outstanding opportunity for our jazz students to learn from a master.”

The Criterions is the longest running University jazz band in the country. Originating in the 1920s, they were a student-led ballroom dance band, and provided entertainment for University dances, proms and post-Friday night games.

The Criterions Jazz Ensemble will also perform this season in the 100th Annual Holiday Program on Saturday, Dec. 11, at 3 p.m., during the Wells School of Music Jazz Festival from March 23-26, and on Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m.

All faculty, staff, students, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a mask which covers their nose and mouth when indoors. The concert is free and open to the public and can also be viewed via Livestream at Wells School of Music at vimeo.com.