35th Western Invitational Jazz Fest features MacArthur grant recipient

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Saxophonist and MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant recipient Miguel Zenón will perform with the Western Jazz Quartet at 8 p.m. Friday, March 13, and with the Western Michigan University Jazz Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14. Both events will take place in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

The March 14 concert will mark the culmination of the 35th Western Invitational Jazz Festival, which brings more than 300 high school students annually from throughout the Midwest to perform for adjudication. Master classes, clinics, and performances by WMU jazz students and faculty round out the daylong event, which is considered one of the premier collegiate festivals in the United States. The festival begins at 8 a.m. in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

Tickets to Zenón's performances are $15 general admission and $5 for students, and are available from Miller Auditorium at millerauditorium.com or by calling (269) 387-2300 or (800) 228-9858.

Miguel Zenón

Zenón one of the most exciting young jazz artists of his generation. A MacArthur Foundation Fellow and recipient of the foundation's coveted "genius" grant, he was named Jazz Musician of the Year in 2014 by Jazz Times magazine. Zenón has been fronting the SFJazz Collective for several years and is recording and touring widely with his own group. He has been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards.

For more information about the concert, visit wmich.edu/music or call (269) 387-4667.

For more news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.