{"id":11369,"date":"2017-07-06T21:55:17","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T21:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=11369&post_type=story"},"modified":"2025-03-13T15:49:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T15:49:47","slug":"ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Ninth Annual UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer 2017\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In March, UCF presented its ninth annual UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival. The event provides a platform for students and serves the community by bringing world-renowned jazz performers \u2014 from 88-year-old Benny Golson to 22-year-old Veronica Swift \u2014 to Central Florida. This year\u2019s festival included performances from guitarist Peter Bernstein, trumpeter Leroy Jones, The Jazz Professors, the Flying Horse Big Band and five Florida high school jazz bands.<\/p>\n

[blockquote source=”Jeff Rupert, Pegasus Professor and director of jazz studies” cite=”” color=”” css_class=””]\u201cUCF is the only performing arts school in the world that has both a 24\/7 NPR jazz station [89.9 FM] and a record label. In our first year, the jazz festival was broadcast on PRI International all over the world.\u201d[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"Video<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>
\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay video<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”12447″ title=”ucf-orlando-jazz-festival-richard-drexler-1200×801″ alt=”UCF Instructor Richard Drexler plays an upright bass on stage.” position=”right” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

\u201cJazz festivals are an important part of keeping the music going, they have been for decades,\u201d says Richard Drexler, instructor at UCF and bass player for The Jazz Professors. \u201cHaving one here gets the opportunity to have famous, world-class players come that normally would not be here.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up with music in Illinois, living about two hours from Chicago. We would regularly drive to the Jazz Showcase or other venues and hear the famous players, that we all listened to on records. Those venues are few and far between; whereas nowadays, the younger players have incredible access to basically everything ever recorded with Spotify, YouTube and so forth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing that these younger players don\u2019t have access to is catching the live musicians in clubs like that. It\u2019s very rare. The next best thing is in a concert setting in a festival.\u201d<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”12446″ title=”ucf-orlando-jazz-festival-jeff-rupert-1200×801″ alt=”UCF Professor Jeff Rupert plays the saxophone.” position=”right” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

\u201cFolks have tried to define jazz for years,\u201d says Jeff Rupert, Pegasus Professor, director of jazz studies, and saxophonist for The Jazz Professors. \u201c[Jazz pianist educator] Lewis Porter has four definitions of jazz, but I think an easier way to kind of wrap our arms around it is to realize that jazz really embodies the American spirit \u2014 that rugged individualism that we talk about, that free-spirited nature. Jazz music is about being an individual within a group setting. It\u2019s really profound how the music really embodies the tenor or the vibe of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”11482″ title=”InFocus-Jazz1″ alt=”Guitarist Peter Bernstein laughs while holding a guitar.” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein was one of the headline acts at the 2016 UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”11483″ title=”InFocus-JazzDrummer” alt=”UCF Instructor Marty Morell plays the drums. He is looking a music stand. An upright base lies on its side to the right of him.” position=”right” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Instructor Marty Morell plays the drums for The Jazz Professors.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”11485″ title=”InFocus-JazzPiano” alt=”The man is seen playing the piano. His back is to the photographer. Facing him is a man playing an upright bass. The audience can be seen to the right.” position=”right” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Assistant professor Per Danielsson plays piano for The Jazz Professors.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”11486″ title=”InFocus-JazzPianoDetail” alt=”Hands are seen playing the keys of a Steinway piano.” position=”right” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":11584,"template":"","categories":[978,979],"tags":[341,647],"class_list":["post-11369","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gallery","category-in-focus","tag-college-of-arts-and-humanities","tag-school-of-performing-arts","issues-summer-2017"],"yoast_head":"\nThe UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival Celebrated its Ninth Season<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 2016 UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival included performances from guitarist Peter Bernstein, trumpeter Leroy Jones and The Jazz Professors.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ninth Annual UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 2016 UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival included performances from guitarist Peter Bernstein, trumpeter Leroy Jones and The Jazz Professors.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pegasus Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-13T15:49:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2017\/06\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-su17-InFocusJazzed2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"230\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UCF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\\\/\",\"name\":\"The UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival Celebrated its Ninth Season\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/06\\\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-su17-InFocusJazzed2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-06T21:55:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-13T15:49:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"The 2016 UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival included performances from guitarist Peter Bernstein, trumpeter Leroy Jones and The Jazz Professors.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/06\\\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-su17-InFocusJazzed2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/06\\\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-su17-InFocusJazzed2.jpg\",\"width\":220,\"height\":230},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ninth Annual UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pegasus Magazine\",\"description\":\"The Magazine of University of Central Florida\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\\\/#local-main-organization-logo\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"University of Central Florida\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival Celebrated its Ninth Season","description":"The 2016 UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival included performances from guitarist Peter Bernstein, trumpeter Leroy Jones and The Jazz Professors.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ninth Annual UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival","og_description":"The 2016 UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival included performances from guitarist Peter Bernstein, trumpeter Leroy Jones and The Jazz Professors.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/","og_site_name":"Pegasus Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF","article_modified_time":"2025-03-13T15:49:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":220,"height":230,"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2017\/06\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-su17-InFocusJazzed2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@UCF","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/","name":"The UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival Celebrated its Ninth Season","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2017\/06\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-su17-InFocusJazzed2.jpg","datePublished":"2017-07-06T21:55:17+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-13T15:49:47+00:00","description":"The 2016 UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival included performances from guitarist Peter Bernstein, trumpeter Leroy Jones and The Jazz Professors.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2017\/06\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-su17-InFocusJazzed2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2017\/06\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-su17-InFocusJazzed2.jpg","width":220,"height":230},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ninth Annual UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/","name":"Pegasus Magazine","description":"The Magazine of University of Central Florida","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ninth-annual-ucf-orlando-jazz-festival\/#local-main-organization-logo","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"University of Central Florida"}]}},"acf":[],"story_subtitle":"The UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival brings jazz legends to the Central Florida area.","story_description":"The 2017 UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival included performances from guitarist Peter Bernstein, trumpeter Leroy Jones and The Jazz Professors.","story_thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2017\/06\/PegasusHomepage_SmallStoryThumb_263x175-su17-InFocusJazzed3.jpg","width":263,"height":175},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/11369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/11369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25680,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/11369\/revisions\/25680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}