Photo courtesy of: artistSaxophonist Mike Tomaro will play the Athens Jazz Fest.

The 2019 Athens Jazz Festival, began Monday, April 8 and will last until Sunday, April 14, with several performances, presentations and jam sessions surrounding America’s music. Most Jazz Fest events are free and occur all around the city and campus at places like Casa Nueva, Tony’s Tavern, the Athens Public Library, Athens Uncorked, ARTS/West, Memorial Auditorium and Glidden Hall.

Local Athens and Ohio University musicians and scholars will be joined by headlining artists including the University of North Texas’ One O’Clock Lab Band, Saxophonist Mike Tomaro and the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra.

The One O’Clock Lab Band, under the direction of Alan Baylock, is the premier performing ensemble of the internationally acclaimed University of North Texas jazz studies program. With an seven Grammy Award nominations from a library of over 70 critically acclaimed recordings to date, the One O’Clock Lab Band is noted for exceptional individual musicianship and tight ensemble performance.

Mike Tomaro has been the director of the Jazz Studies Program at the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, since 1997. Prior to his appointment at Duquesne, he lived in the Washington, D.C. area for 17 years as a member of the Army Blues Jazz Ensemble, a unit of the prestigious “Pershing’s Own” United States Army Band. While a member of this group, he served as its Enlisted Musical Director and performed for Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton as well as heads of state from around the world.

The Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra, with director Mark Donovan, will open our Athens Jazz Festival concert on Friday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium. The Youth Jazz Orchestra is comprised of premier players in grades 9-12 from central Ohio and beyond, and performs for 30 weeks during the school year at the Southern Theatre in Columbus prior to the Columbus Jazz Orchestra’s Sunday matinees. This concert is free and also features headlining group, the University of North Texas’ One O’Clock Lab Band.

Event locations and details can be found at http://www.athensjazzfestival.org/.