Columbia College Chicago Presents Grammy-nominated Contemporary Musician and Trumpeter Russell Gunn in Concert

News Office / Mar 14, 2018

Artist in Residence Russell Gunn to perform with students at Chicago’s historic Jazz Showcase

CHICAGO (March 14, 2018)—Columbia College Chicago will present Grammy-nominee trumpeter and composer Russell Gunn in several public performances with students at the historic Jazz Showcase, starting March 15. Gunn worked with Columbia’s Jazz Ensemble, Fusion Ensemble, and ChicagoVox students in a weeklong workshop as part of Columbia’s Artist in Residence program.

“Russell Gunn’s wide range of experience in contemporary, urban, and popular music, is influenced by the jazz tradition,” said Scott Hall, professor of instruction and director of Jazz Studies. “Our students have benefited immensely from working with Gunn, who breaks ground with his hybrid approach to composition and arranging, and by producing some of the best sounds of hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and the Blues.”

Born in Chicago and raised in East Saint Louis, Gunn’s musical blend of genres such as American hip-hop, jazz, African drums, Dubstep, and EDM, earned him a Grammy nomination for his recording, Ethnomusicology, Vol. 1. Gunn is a contemporary; Neo-bop jazz performer—jazz that includes bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz—who has worked with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Roy Hargrove, James Moody, and R&B hit-maker Maxwell.

“It continues to be a great pleasure working with the students and gracious staff at Columbia, and the students are very receptive and eager to learn,” said Gunn. “I am comfortable in the teaching environment that Columbia created for me.”

Columbia’s Artist in Residence program attracts established and award-winning singers, musicians, and performing artists, such as Paula Cole, Terence Blanchard, Lisa Fischer, Mike Stern, Peter Erskine, Christian McBride, Todd Rundgren, Joan Osborne, Shawn Mullins, Stefon Harris, Donny McCaslin, Cassandra O’Neal, Jon Irabagon, and most recently, Cory Henry. Artists help students prepare for recording sessions and public performances, and provide their perspectives on the business and marketing aspects of the music industry.

Tickets are $20 for general admission, $10 for faculty, staff, and family of performers, and $5 for students, and are available through www.JazzShowcase.com or by calling 312-369-8330.

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Columbia College Chicago is a private, nonprofit college offering a distinctive curriculum that blends creative and media arts, liberal arts, and business for nearly 7,500 students in more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Dedicated to academic excellence and long-term career success, Columbia College Chicago creates a dynamic, challenging, and collaborative space for students who experience the world through a creative lens. For more information, visit www.colum.edu.

 

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Anjali Julka

ajulka@colum.edu
312-369-7016

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