FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JAZZ LEGEND CLARK TERRY TO PERFORM AT PHI MU ALPHA/CLARK TERRY JAZZ FESTIVAL APRIL 20

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., April 5, 2002 -- A performance by Jazz Trumpet Legend Clark Terry will be the highlight of the Fourth Annual Phi Mu Alpha/Clark Terry Jazz Festival April 20 at Southeast Missouri State University.

The annual jazz festival will feature nearly 30 junior and senior high school jazz bands and combos in competition from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Academic Auditorium and the University Center Missouriana and Indian rooms.

The morning and afternoon sessions will conclude with a performance by the Southeast Studio Jazz Ensemble at 4 p.m. in Academic Auditorium. This mini-concert will be given prior to an Awards Ceremony. A Conversation with Clark Terry also will be presented during the noon hour. Terry will be available to speak to students about jazz during this time in Academic Auditorium.

Headlining this year's Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival will be Clark Terry with the Studio Jazz Ensemble on the evening concert at 7 p.m. in Academic Auditorium. The events are open to the public.

"He's a hero," said Barry Bernhardt, director of bands at Southeast Missouri State. "He's one of the living legends of jazz. Not only is he a marvelous player, but he also is a masterful teacher."

The festival is being sponsored by the University Jazz Program and the Men of the Iota Psi Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the Men's Professional Music Fraternity at Southeast Department of Music.

Terry recently performed at Southeast in 2000 with the Southeast Studio Jazz Ensemble during winter commencement exercises when he was presented with an honorary doctoral degree in December. Terry performed again with the Studio Jazz Ensemble at a Pre-Inaugural Celebration for then Governor-Elect Bob Holden in Jefferson City, Mo. on Jan. 7, 2001.

The brothers of Iota Psi Chapter of Phi M Alpha Sinfonia, the men's professional music fraternity, honored Terry last year by naming the jazz festival -- the Southeast Missouri State University/Clark Terry Jazz Festival -- in his honor.

Terry was the highlight of the Southeast Jazz Festival in both 2000 and 2001. The honorary degree he received at Southeast in 2000 is his 11th such honor. He received an honorary degree in 2000 from Webster University in St. Louis. The first honorary degree Terry received was presented to him by The University of New Hampshire while Southeast Chancellor Emeritus Dale F. Nitzschke then was serving as president of that institution. Terry also has received honorary degrees from Berklee College of Music, Westmar University, Rowan College of New Jersey, Hamilton College, Elmhurst College, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, and University of South Carolina. Additionally, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia made him the first jazz artist to be honored with its highest award for distinguished service to music. The U.S. State Department selected Terry and his band for tours to the Middle East and Africa as American Ambassadors of Goodwill. He also has been inducted into the prestigious Kansas City Jazz Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Terry began his career in St. Louis during the '20s and '30s while playing for a local bar. After developing his technique with the Navy All Star Jazz Band during World War II, Terry's musical star rose rapidly with successful stints in the bands of Charlie Barnet, Charlie Ventura, Eddie Vinson, and then, in 1948, with the great Count Basie. Along the way, in addition to his outstanding musical contributions to these bands, Terry was exerting a positive influence on younger musicians such as Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, both of whom credit Terry as a formidable influence during the early stages of their careers.

In 1951, Terry was asked to join Duke Ellington's orchestra, where he stayed for eight years as a featured soloist. Terry also was a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, a standout with the NBC Tonight Show Band and one of the first black musicians to be employed regularly by a studio. As advisory to the International Association of Jazz Educators and much sought after as a clinician, Terry is often referred to as "America's #1 Jazz Educator." He also is the noted author of Let's Talk Trumpet: From Legit to Jazz, Interpretation of the Jazz Language and Clark Terry's System of Circular Breathing for Woodwind and Brass Instruments.

Terry, one of contemporary music's great innovators, also is justly celebrated for his great technical virtuosity, swinging lyricism and impeccable good taste. Combining these with the gifts of a great dramatist, Terry is a master storyteller.

The latter part of his career has found him traveling around the world to play concerts, clubs and festivals. Terry's achievements have earned him a spot in the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Hall of Fame.

Terry recently performed on the VH-1 show "Divas Live with Aretha Franklin" and on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno in a performance with the Steve Tyrell Big Band, with whom he had just done a recording session.

General admission for an all-day pass (8 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the Jazz Festival will be $5. The cost for the evening concert will be $5 for general admission. The evening concert is sure to please all fans of jazz music.

For more information, contact the Department of Music at Southeast Missouri State University at (573) 651-2141 or Barry Bernhardt, director of University Bands, at (573) 651-2334 or e-mail bbernhardt@semo.edu.