Furman Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combos in concert April 5

The Furman University Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combos will present their spring concert Friday, April 5, at 8 p.m. in Daniel Recital Hall on campus.

Presented by the Furman Department of Music, the concert is open to the public. Tickets for the event are $5 and available at the door.

Furman Associate Professor of Saxophone and Director of Jazz Studies Matt Olson conducts the concert that showcases the music of Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Bennie and Buster Moten, Irving Berlin, Pee Wee Ellis, Dizzy Gillespie, Radiohead, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Richie Beirach and Scott Ninmer.

Coaching the Jazz Combos are Olson and Jazz Studies Lecturer and Jazz Guitarist Steve Watson.

Also on the program are student vocalists Abbie Schlichtmann, a junior, who performs Berlin’s “How Deep is the Ocean,” arranged by Jerry Nowak, and senior Hunter Ditsch who performs Jim McNeely’s arrangement of Beirach’s “Leaving.”

For more information about the event, contact the Furman Department of Music at 864-294-2086, and FurmanMusic@furman.edu.

Associate Professor of Saxophone and Director of Jazz Studies Matt Olson

About Matt Olson
A native of Racine, Wisconsin, Matt Olson is associate professor of saxophone and director of jazz studies at Furman. A scholar and performer, he has performed with renowned artists including Randy Brecker, Kurt Elling, Benny Carter, Ken Peplowski, Kevin Mahogany, Chris Vadala, Doc Severinsen, Manhattan Transfer, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Lou Rawls, Johnny Mathis, Wayne Newton, the Temptations, the Four Tops, children’s entertainer Shari Lewis, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.

His debut CD “Vortex” was released in 2007. Olson is co-founder and co-leader of Unhinged Sextet, a collaborative ensemble featuring distinguished jazz educators from around the country. With this ensemble he has released two projects, “Clarity” (2015) and “Don’t Blink” (2017).

Olson holds a doctorate from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Northwestern University.