Taylor to Present Jazz and Play on Thursday

Jack Taylor, director of bands, will speak at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 1, on the art of jazz improvisation, its origins, its history and how it’s done. His presentation will take place in Ritz Auditorium in Old Main.

Taylor will address these subjects based on personal experiences. He has performed with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Manhattan Transfer, Jack Sheldon, Slam Stewart, Clark Terry, Bennie Carter, Jiggs Whigham, Bill Evans, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Dianne Schurr, Bill Watrous and others, as well as pop artists including Bobby Vinton, Frankie Laine, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, the Four Seasons, Glen Campbell, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, the Coasters, the Four Freshmen, Olivia Newton-John, Rosemary Clooney and more.

The UF Jazz Ensemble will join Taylor for demonstration of the techniques that will be discussed.
Taylor’s presentation is part of the Power of Play series, organized by Matthew Stolick, Ph.D. As the 2011-2012 Richard E. Wilkin Chair of the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Findlay, Stolick, an associate professor of philosophy, is devoting this year to an interdisciplinary exploration of a single topic — The Power of Play: Essential to Human Being.
Stolick believes that unstructured play is important to our quality of life but it is being eliminated from our structured lives. Some of his goals for the yearlong project include increasing awareness that play is learning; encouraging unorganized play for children; inspiring a sense of playfulness in the work environment; and inspiring people to commit to living playful lives and careers.
For more information, contact Stolick at stolick@findlay.edu.