MSU, Bozeman hosting a day of jazz music

BOZEMAN - A slate of jazz concerts is set for Friday, May 3, to wrap-up International Jazz Day week.

To kick things off, students from Park High School in Livingston will head to Bozeman to join Montana State University students for a jazz masterclass hosted by the Airmen of Note, the U.S. Air Force's premier jazz ensemble, at 3 p.m. in Reynolds Recital Hall in Howard Hall on the MSU campus.

Then, at 5:15 p.m. in Reynolds Recital Hall, the Park High School students will perform a set of big band jazz. They will be followed by an R&B group that includes Ryan Matzinger, assistant professor and director of jazz in MSU's School of Music. After that, the MSU Jazz Workshop Band, which is led by Matzinger, will perform more big band music.

The students are then heading to the Willson Auditorium, 404 W. Main St., to watch a performance by the Airmen of Note, which will start at 7:30 p.m. They plan to play a variety of music, from big band hits to new compositions.

All the performances are free and open to the public, but reservations are required for the Airmen of Note's concert. Those free tickets can be reserved at www.usafband.ticketleap.com/the-us-air-force-bands-airmen-of-note---live-in-bozeman/dates/May-03-2024_at_0730PM.

International Jazz Day is celebrated each year on April 30 and has grown to a week full of concerts.