PMA-Upsilon Phi Members 1971 (Echo, 1971, 119. Courtesy of Pickler Memorial Library)
The Phi Mu Alpha—Upsilon Phi Jazz Festival (JazzFest) is an annual celebration of jazz music hosted by the local chapter (Upsilon Phi) at Truman State University (TSU), located in Kirksville, Missouri.
Phi Mu Alpha (PMA), otherwise known as Sinphonia, is a national fraternity dedicated to the advancement of music for both entertainment and educational purposes. As the Upsilon Phi chapter website states,
Sinfonians share a common love of music that unites them as brothers. The fraternity teaches men to develop themselves and their art, not for the sake of art itself, but as a means of enriching the lives of others. Through many chapter, provincial and national events, Sinfonia offers opportunities for performance, community music outreach and other activities designed to develop a true appreciation of music’s uplifting power.
A New Chapter
After the founding of the Upsilon Phi chapter at TSU (then known as Northeast Missouri State College) in 1968, the chapter’s inaugural JazzFest was held on February 15, 1969. The first two years of the festival, local artists and schools were the featured performers. The first year, bands from the University of Missouri, South Shelby High School, and Jennings High School played in addition to the NMSC jazz band.
PMA-Upsilon Phi Members 1994 (Echo, 1994, 300. Courtesy of Pickler Memorial Library)
It was not until the 3rd annual JazzFest in 1971, that Clark Terry (a famed jazz trumpeter who, in addition to working with such musicians as Count Basie and Quincy Jones and mentoring Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and Wynton Marsalis, was playing in the Tonight Show Band at the time) was hired as the first featured guest artist and came back for the fourth JazzFest the following year.
TSU Echo article on JazzFest 36 featuring John Ambercrombie (Echo 2004, 174. Courtesy of Pickler Memorial Library)
Since then, PMA has brought in a distinguished jazz artist to teach and perform with students. Aside from a few nationally and internationally renowned artists (e.g., Mike Metheny, Matt Wilson, and Ethan Iverson), the general public may not recognize most of the names in the list of past guest artists (though, die-hard jazz fans and music lovers will certainly be impressed). Though PMA has yet to receive the funding to bring in a top-tier jazz icon, most of these performers are certified professional touring musicians who have played and even recorded with the greats. With rich musical backgrounds and professional experience, they are able to offer invaluable advice for up-and-coming musicians.
Each musician varies in terms of experience, style, primary instrument, and approach to teaching. The ideal guest artist is someone who is balanced as a performer and an educator. In fact, a number of guest artists have been both professionally touring jazz musicians and part-time to full time music educators (as is the case for Ron Miles, the JazzFest 48 guest artist).
(Images republished with permission from Truman State University and Phi Mu Alpha–Upsilon Phi. Image source: Past Guest Artists)
Featured Instrument Rotation
It wasn’t until TSU’s current jazz director, Tim AuBuchon, took over in 2003, that a more structured rotation of guest artists was implemented to showcase different instruments.
[Ron Miles] is trumpet, then last year we had trombone (Ray Anderson), the year before that we had saxophone, the year before that was rhythm section—that year was Ethan Iverson, who’s the pianist of the Bad Plus. Actually, I found a video of the Bad Plus plus Ron Miles and Sam Newsome, who was the saxophone guy two years ago, all doing a thing together and I thought, “I’ve had three of these guys here, that’s great. Three out of five, that’s not bad!”
Before this, it was not uncommon to have three trumpet players in a row (1995-1997) or a significant gap with no featured percussionist (1976-1982), for example. Over the past decade, AuBuchon has been more intentional about programming guest artists to ensure this rotation.
(For more information on how the festival has changed over the years, see Visiting Schools.)
Events
JazzFest has multiple purposes and audiences. First of all, it is an educational festival for TSU students and visiting bands who get the chance to work with and learn from a professional musician. Secondly, it is a celebration of jazz music, which is showcased during the two public performances.
You can kind of think of JazzFest as a three part festival: you have the Judge’s Jam Friday night as kind of a warm up for the entire day; Saturday morning through the afternoon, which is the clinics and the concerts for all the high school and middle school students; and the night concert. For the Judge’s Jam, a lot of Truman alumni come back in town and the purpose is to allow the judges and clinicians a chance to play, let them have a little bit of fun, as well as Truman combos who play a thirty minute set. …[It’s] kind of a way to just relax, touch base. Either network or get to know people a little bit better. Then leading into Saturday, where the main audience is the students getting the clinic, as well as their parents who drive up and want to watch them perform… And then later that night, it’s the entire community coming in and watching anyone who sticks around.
–PMA-Upsilon Phi Chapter President, Ryan Staines
