The UNCG Spartans Jazz Collective made their debut at the 2023 John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival. The rotating ensemble is made up of students and faculty from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. They were so well received last year, they were invited back. They will perform on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024 to kick-off the second day of the festival held in Oak Hollow Park, High Point, NC.
THE COLLECTIVE
The UNCG Spartans Jazz Collective is a collaborative group of faculty and students founded in 2012 to function in the mentorship tradition of the bands of Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and Horace Silver. Faculty members mentor a rotating cast of students in bandleading, arranging, and rehearsal technique, while focusing on specific jazz artists for each semester. Previous artists studied have included Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Max Roach, and Billy Strayhorn, among many others. They enjoy performing locally at the Crown in Greensboro, and for festivals & events in North Carolina. The musicians who will be performing at the Coltrane JazzFest are: Safiatou Souare, vocals, Thomas Heflin, trumpet, Franco Romero, saxophone, Ka’Shella Sturgis, trombone, Cecilia Richardson, guitar, Steve Haines, double bass, Larry “Q” Draughn, percussion and Alston Harris, drums
Steve Haines (double bass) is the faculty representative this year. He has played extensively with Chad Eby, Wycliffe Gordon, Joel Frahm, Ralph Bowen, Jason Marsalis, Joe Chambers, and Fred Wesley, among others. Guitarist Cecilia Richardson and drummer Alston Harris are both students who played with the group last year. They return for an encore appearance.
CENTENNIAL OBSERVANCE
2024 marks the centennial anniversary of the birth of prolific drummer Max Roach (Jan 10, 1924-Aug 16, 2007). In observance, the UNCG Spartans Jazz Collective will play the music of Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach at the Coltrane Jazz Fest.
North Carolina born, Brooklyn, NY raised bebop pioneer Max Roach single handedly revolutionized jazz drumming in the mid 20th Century. Roach, also a composer and bandleader, was one of the most influential and innovative drummers in jazz. Roach was one of the first artists to address social and political injustice through his music. His political commentary, and rhythmic innovations kept Roach at the forefront of jazz for more than 50 years.
Abbey Lincoln was born in Chicago and raised in rural Michigan. The jazz vocalist and composer recorded her first album with jazz great Benny Carter in 1956. Lincoln then recorded a series of albums for the Riverside label with drummer Max Roach, who had introduced her to the label’s owner. She and Roach were married from 1962-1970. Their collaborations lasted more than a decade, and included the seminal recording, We Insist! Freedom Now Suite in 1960. Both artists were named NEA Jazz Masters, (Roach in 1984 and Lincoln in 2003) by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Members of the collective have created their own arrangements of Roach and Lincoln music including the “…Freedom Now Suite.”
