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The Department of Music and Dance and the Jazz and African American Music Studies Program will honor two giants of the genre at the 44th annual Jazz Showcase on Tuesday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Bowker Auditorium.

This year’s show, “Spotlight on the Music of Quincy Jones & Benny Golson,” will pay tribute to the two legendary artists who passed away within two months of each other in late 2024.

Eleven different student ensembles, from guitar duo to big band, will perform works that have become jazz standards and lasting musical contributions to album, film and tv productions over the past 70 years.

Jazz Ensemble I, Chapel Jazz Ensemble, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Lab Ensemble, Vocal Jazz Ensemble and various Chamber Jazz combos will all be part of the showcase.

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“The Jazz Showcase brings together the majority of our jazz student ensembles and participants in a fast-paced, musical, two-half show similar to the department's fall Multibands program,” says Jeffrey W. Holmes, director of Jazz Ensemble I and producer-coordinator of the annual showcase. “We are honored to present composed, arranged and/or produced works by two of the all-time American music giants whose careers spanned eight decades of signature artistic and popular success.”

In addition to Holmes, directors will include Thomas Giampietro (Chapel Jazz), Mitch Chakour (Vocal Jazz) and graduate TA Forest Loomis-Dulong (Jazz Lab), while Jazz faculty trumpeter Haneef Nelson will be a guest soloist with Jazz Ensemble I.

The program will include a Quincy Jones medley, his “Soul Bossa Nova,” “One Hundred Ways,” and arrangements of “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Deed I Do” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” Featured Benny Golson tunes will include “Stablemates,” “Five Spot After Dark,” “Just By Myself,” “Whisper Not,” “Blues March” and others. 

Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for children under 17 and seniors over 65. UMass Amherst students are free with a valid ID.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center website.