Notre Dame’s 66th Collegiate Jazz Festival features concert by Emmet Cohen Quintet

Andrew S. Hughes, South Bend Tribune
Pianist Emmet Cohen and his quintet will serve as the clinicians Feb. 23 and 24, 2024, at the 66th annual Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. On Feb. 24, the Emmet Cohen Quintet also plays a headlining concert to conclude the festival.
Pianist Emmet Cohen and his quintet will serve as the clinicians Feb. 23 and 24, 2024, at the 66th annual Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. On Feb. 24, the Emmet Cohen Quintet also plays a headlining concert to conclude the festival.

SOUTH BEND — The University of Notre Dame presents its 66th annual Collegiate Jazz Festival on February 23 and 24 at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

The Friday night and Saturday afternoon sessions will each feature four college jazz ensembles and are open to the public at no charge.

The Roosevelt University Large Jazz Ensemble from Chicago, the Indiana University South Bend Jazz Ensemble, Western Michigan University’s Jazz Orchestra from Kalamazoo and the Temple University Jazz Band from Philadelphia perform during the 7 p.m. Friday session.

The University of Notre Dame’s Jazz Band 1, the Michigan State University Jazz Orchestra II, Notre Dame’s New Orleans Brass Band and the Columbia College Fusion Ensemble from Chicago perform during the 1 p.m. Saturday session.

Following the four collegiate ensembles Friday night, pianist Emmet Cohen and his quintet will give a clinic/jam, where all the participating college musicians will be seated in the first rows of the auditorium and will be able to ask the quintet’s members questions.

The questions usually revolve around how to improvise or how to improve at doing so, how to play in different jazz styles (old and new), and what famous jazz musicians and recordings to listen to.

Some of the college students may be invited to jam with the quintet.

Finally, Cohen’s quintet returns for a full concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Cohen, 33, combines straight-ahead contemporary jazz with bebop from the 1940s and even stride piano from the 1920s in his music.

Other members of his quintet include Bruce Harris on trumpet, Ruben Fox on tenor sax, Phillip Norris on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums.

Notre Dame’s Collegiate Jazz Festival began in 1959 and is the oldest festival for college bands.

Admission to the Friday night and Saturday afternoon sessions is free.

Tickets for the Emmet Cohen Quintet concert are $33-$10.

For more information, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Emmet Cohen Quintet headlines jazz festival at Notre Dame

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