Monday, March 16, 2009

Benny Golson to play with Ronald Carter and
the NIU Jazz Ensemble on April 12 at the Sheldon

Saxophonist and composer Benny Golson (pictured) is coming to St. Louis to join the Northern Illinois University jazz ensemble and its director, saxophonist Ronald Carter, for a benefit performance at 5:00 p.m., Sunday, April 12 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The event is the fifth annual "Youth in the Arts" benefit for the Genesis Academy of Arts and Fine Arts Ministry (GAAFAM), an organization founded and directed by Tracy Holliway-Wiggins, formerly of the Black Rep, that also includes local jazz trumpeter (and Holliway-Wiggins' spouse) Anthony Wiggins as music director.

Golson, who recently turned 80 years old, is the composer of jazz standards such as "Along Came Betty," "Killer Joe" and "I Remember Clifford," and was named an NEA Jazz Master in 1995. The NIU jazz ensemble under Carter's direction has become an internationally recognized, award-winning group that has shared stages with many jazz greats, including Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Bellson, Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Jimmy Heath, Tito Puente, Wynton Marsalis and many others.

Tickets for the April 12 concert at the Sheldon are $25 for general admission, $15 for students, and can be purchased at the door the night of the concert or online at the GAAFAM Web site.

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