Peter Erskine, Jon Faddis to present free master classes April 17 & 18 at the Touhill

In conjunction with their appearances next week as guest artists for the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival, drummer Peter Erskine and trumpeter Jon Faddis will present free master classes on their respective instruments.

Erskine's drum classes will be from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17 and 12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. Faddis' trumpet class will be held from 12:45 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 18.> (See update below.) All three master classes will take place in the Touhill Performing Arts Center's Lee Theater, and all are free and open to the public.

UPDATE, 4/9/09, 12:15 p.m.: Via GSLJF publicity guru Dawn DeBlaze, the word now is that, to accommodate the rehearsal schedule for Saturday evening's concert, Faddis' and Erskine's master classes will trade time slots on Saturday, with Faddis now set to teach from 12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. and Erskine taking over the 12:45 to 1:30 p.m. slot.

In addition to the weekend concerts featuring Erskine, Faddis, guitarist/singer John Pizzarelli and saxophonist Lou Marini, the GSLJF also will include a number of performances and clinics featuring student combos and big bands from local schools. For a schedule of those events, go here.