Luther College’s Jazz Band to perform on April 30

Luther College’s music department presents the Luther College Jazz Band at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, in the Main Hall of the Center for Faith and Life on the Luther College campus.

This event is open to the public with no charge for admission.

Directed by Jon Ailabouni, Luther adjunct faculty of music, the performance will include the “Boogie Stop Shuffle” by Charles Mingus, “Katie” and “Basie Straight Ahead” by Sammy Nestico, “Linebacker” and “Riverscape” by Fred Sturm, “Yardbird Suite” by Charlie Parker and “Black and Tan Fantasy” by Duke Ellington.

Along with Jazz Band, two jazz combos, Free Time and Gimme Moore, will perform at the concert.

In addition to conducting Jazz Band and the jazz combos at Luther, Ailabouni teaches improvisation, jazz theory and arranging, jazz history, studio improvisation and trumpet lessons. He also performs with the Luther College faculty brass quintet. Before teaching at Luther, Ailabouni taught at Western Michigan University and served as co-director of the Western Invitational Jazz Festival. Ailabouni has toured internationally in France, Puerto Rico and Brazil and performed domestically at the Midwest Band Clinic in Chicago, the Detroit International Jazz Festival and Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Luther is home to one of the largest collegiate music programs in the nation, with five choirs, three orchestras, three bands, two jazz bands and more than 800 student musicians. Luther students participate in large ensembles, faculty-coached chamber groups, private lessons and master classes. Nearly 275 music majors study music theory, ear training, history, education, composition, jazz, church music and performance.