The College of Wooster’s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo present “A Celebration of Wooster Jazz Vocalists” Feb. 17

The College of Wooster’s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo will present a combined concert titled “A Celebration of Wooster Jazz Vocalists” Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Gault Recital Hall of Scheide Music Center (329 E. University Street). This performance will feature guest vocalist, Alyssa Allgood, along with three student musicians.  

Jeff Lindberg, professor of music at the College, directs the Jazz Ensemble, and Greg Slawson, adjunct instructor of music, directs the Jazz Combo. The Jazz Ensemble will perform “My Man Quincy” by Al Cobine and “New Concerto for Cootie” by Duke Ellington. The Jazz Combo will perform “Straight No Chaser” by Thelonious Monk and “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock. 

Alyssa Allgood is a jazz vocalist, bandleader, educator, and composer from Chicago, Illinois. Allgood has released three albums which have received critical acclaim for her lyrical depth, instrumental approach, and accomplished scat and vocalese singing from publications such as DownBeat Magazine, All About Jazz, the Huffington Post and the New York City Jazz Record. She has appeared at venues including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Club in Shanghai, Birdland Jazz Club, the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Green Mill, the Jazz Showcase, Winter’s Jazz Club, the Jazz Estate and Noce Jazz Club. She won the inaugural Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Voice Competition in 2017 and the David Baker Memorial Scholarship through the Jazz Education Network in 2022. She was also named Best Jazz Entertainer in the Chicago Music Awards in 2019, a Luminarts Cultural Foundation Jazz Improvisation Fellow in 2016, and a semifinalist in the Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition in 2015. Allgood will sing pieces such as “It’s All Right with Me,” “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone,” and “The Very Thought of You.” 

Three student vocalists will also be featured in this concert, including Bri Mosley ’24, a junior majoring in music; Linat Westreich ’23, a senior political science major; and David Dotson ’23, a senior neuroscience major. Mosley will be featured in the song “Cheek to Cheek,” while Westreich will be featured in “Soon” and Dotson in “You Make Me Feel So Young.” 

Lindberg teaches courses in jazz history and improvisation and also directs the Wooster Symphony Orchestra. Lindberg also is a co-founder and creative director of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Chicago’s oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation. Slawson is an adjunct instructor of music, jazz piano, and music technology at the College. 

This concert is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Melissa Puster in the Department of Music at 330-263-2419 or mpuster@wooster.edu.

Photo: Alyssa Allgood. Photo by Matt Baker Photography

Posted in News on February 10, 2023.