Bob Mintzer © Andea Canter

Elmhurst College Jazz Festival 2007 runs from February 22nd trhough the 25th and features Denis DiBlasio, Monica Mancini, Bobby Shew, Matt Harris, Matt Wilson’s Arts and Crafts, Bob Mintzer Big Band, and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.

Chicago magazine once hailed the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival as “one of the best buys for your jazz dollars,” and it’s easy to see why.

Each February, the best college jazz bands in the country converge on the Elmhurst campus for three days of performances and education. The bands take turns performing for some of the greatest names in professional jazz today, who offer critiques and award a variety of honors. The professionals cap off each night of the Festival with a rousing performance of their own.

For the college bands, the Festival offers a great opportunity to learn from some of today’s greatest jazz musicians. For the audience, it’s a chance to hear up-and-coming bands—as well as jazz greats.

Schedule Follows:

Quad Cities - In the Roaring 20's, Davenport, Iowa, produced a legendary jazz cornetist, pianist and composer whose worldwide fame continues to grow. His name was Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke, and his music continues to astound music lovers with the clarity of its tone, the musical imagination, and the complex piano compositions. He played with the great bands of the era—the Wolverines, Jean Goldkette, and Paul Whiteman.

Since 1972, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival has been held annually in July to honor this unassuming young genius whose career was cut short by his death in 1931 at the age of 28. It has been named Iowa's No. 1 tourist attraction by the Iowa Department of Tourism. This year's festival will take place Thursday-Sunday, July 26-29, 2007.

Sponsored by the non-profit Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society, and operated by volunteers, the Festival attracts the cream of dixieland, swing and other jazz-style bands from all over the U.S. and the world.

The bands to perform in 2007 are Randy Sandke's New York All Stars from New York, Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band from Florida, Cornet Chop Suey from St. Louis, New Wolverine Orchestra from Australia, Titan Hot 7 from Florida, Uptown Lowdown Jazz from Washington, West End Jazz Band from Chicago, the Josh Duffee Orchestra from the Quad Cities, and the Creole Seranaders with Don Vappie and the New Orleans All-Stars with Duke Heitger from New Orleans.

Jamie Cullum

Jamie can create music to which both seasoned jazz fans and young pop fanatics have responded earnestly. Jamie is not just another music fad. His major label debut, “Twentysomething”, has not only made Jamie a star, but has set the records as the fastest-selling jazz debut in UK history, where it was certified Platinum in just six weeks!

“To categorize Jamie’s music as Jazz is doing him injustice because to some, Jazz is now considered largely mired in the past. However, at the same time, Cullum is not even one of those sort of a fad, glittery bubble gum wanna-be musicians. He doesn’t even fall between any styles. This HYPER LAD simply laces his original jazzy tunes with modern hip-hop, rock or even folk accents, leaving you in a relaxed and comfortable state of mind where you’d feel more secure to the future of music where piano men will be as exciting as lead guitar players!”