In what is being called a once in a lifetime event, Doc Severinsen of The Tonight Show fame will join The Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the U.S. Air Force, on the same stage during the Tri-Cities Jazz Fest at East Tennessee State University.
This fourth annual festival, which also features another internationally noted trumpeter, Vince DiMartino, along with such local talent as trumpeter Justin Stanton, The Bill Perkins Quartet, The Jazz Doctors and the ETSU Jazz Ensemble, will be held March 2-3 in the D.P. Culp University Center’s Martha Street Culp Auditorium.
Led by Dr. David Champouillon, ETSU associate professor of trumpet and jazz studies in the Department of Music, the Jazz Fest has come to be known as “The Great Arrival” because it has drawn such jazz greats as Maynard Ferguson, Marvin Stamm and Jon Faddis to the local stage.
The festival’s purpose is to provide performance opportunities many ETSU students might never realize otherwise and to enhance the artistic and public image of the Tri-Cities, according to Champouillon.
“Having Severinsen and The Note, as they are referred to, is a major coup for ETSU an event that will be talked about for years across the state and region, and envied by all,” said Champouillion.
“Almost 100 percent of Severinsen’s performances are now solely with major orchestras. His performance with The Note will be legendary.”
This festival lineup came about through a 2001 performance by the ETSU Trumpet Ensemble on a PBS special with Severinsen titled “Doc and The Night of a Thousand Trumpets.”
The idea gained momentum last summer at the International Trumpet Guild conference in Denver, when a conversation was held between Severinsen, members of the USAF Band and Champouillon. During this talk, Severinsen expressed his desire to perform with the group.
The festival is rounded out by a local favorite, The Bill Perkins Quartet, with The Jazz Doctors, performing during an artists’ reception at Johnson City’s new Picasso Restaurant, owned by former ETSU Dining Services chef Rick Tabor.
The Tri-Cities Jazz Fest begins at 7:30 p.m. each evening, and one ticket admits the listener to the entire festival.
Tickets are $40 for VIP priority seating and admission to the artists’ reception and $20 for general seating.
For tickets or more information call the ETSU Department of Music at 439-4270 or Champouillon at 439-6955.

Author