Western Michigan University hosts a daylong celebration of jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove tomorrow, Oct 11, featuring workshops and a concert with five renowned guest artists.
The Trumpet Summit in Honor of Roy Hargrove begins at 10 a.m. in the Dalton Center recital hall with free workshops continuing until 5 p.m., followed by a ticketed concert at 7:30 p.m.
Event organizer Millard Southern, a doctoral student at WMU and pastor at Allen Chapel AME Church in Kalamazoo, knew Hargrove personally. "Roy was very giving. And he wanted to see young people take hold of this music," Southern says. He's currently writing Hargrove's biography and describes the late trumpeter as "one of the most important jazz musicians of our times."
The evening concert features five guest trumpeters who all knew Hargrove: Freddie Hendricks, Maurice Brown, Corey Wilkes, Ashlin Parker, and elder statesman John Faddis. The rhythm section includes WMU faculty members Carlo De Rosa on bass, Matthew Fries on piano, and Keith Hall on drums.
Hall, a WMU jazz faculty member, says the community engagement represents "a calling" beyond typical teaching duties. "This is a lifestyle for many of us. It goes well beyond the classroom," he explains.
The daytime workshops include a classical trumpet masterclass with John Hagstrom, principal trumpeter from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and jazz improvisation clinics. Southern presents on Hargrove's legacy at 3 p.m.
Southern was awarded a grant to fund the event by the John Stites Jazz Awards. He says he hopes to make the summit an annual tradition, saying, "I wanted to inspire young people through this art form called jazz music."
Tickets for the finale concert are available at here.
