FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2003

CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119

DRAKE TO HONOR RENOWNED JAZZ TRUMPETER WITH CONCERT AND PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP

Dave Berger, director of the National Jazz Ensemble, will conduct the award-winning Drake University Jazz Ensemble I in performing "Requiem for a Heavyweight," a piece he composed in memory of James K. Maxwell, an internationally renowned jazz trumpeter and father of Drake President David Maxwell.

The concert, which is free and open to the public, will start at 8 p.m. Friday, April 18, in the Performing Arts Hall of the Harmon Fine Arts Center, 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue.

President Maxwell and Andrew Classen, director of jazz studies at Drake, invited Berger to conduct the Drake Jazz Ensemble I in this special concert. Maxwell and his wife, Madeleine, recently donated $25,000 to establish an endowment for the James K. Maxwell Scholarship for Jazz Performance at Drake. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a jazz performance student.

"The scholarship is intended to honor Jimmy Maxwell's 70-year music career and commitment to education through teaching and mentoring hundreds of musicians," President Maxwell said. "It is also intended to recognize and support Drake's jazz program and its outstanding students."

James Maxwell, who played with many of the most famous jazz bands of the swing era and was a mainstay of radio and television studios, has been lauded as one of the best-known specialists of all time. As lead trumpeter in bands such as Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Woody Herman, Maxwell shaped the sound of the trumpet section and handled high-note parts. In 1943, he joined the CBS Studio Orchestra, and later worked with Perry Como on radio and television with the NBC Symphony Orchestra and with the "Tonight Show" band.

Berger was a student of Maxwell's for eight years and played with him in several different bands. "He was my mentor, my guru, my best man at my wedding and my spiritual father," Berger said. "He was one of the most recorded musicians of all time. He once told me that he was the only musician to record with Al Jolson and John Lennon. Aside from his musical reputation, he was well-known for his intelligence, wit and humanity."

A jazz composer, arranger and conductor, Berger is recognized internationally as a leading authority on the music of Duke Ellington and the swing era. He has written music for television, Broadway shows and films, including "The Cotton Club" and "Brighton Beach Memoirs." Berger composed "Requiem for a Heavyweight" after James Maxwell died last July at age 85. The piece had its premiere last September when Berger gathered 30 former students and colleagues of Maxwell's together to rehearse and perform the work at the band shell in New York City's Central Park.

Berger, who teaches at the Juilliard School, describes "Requiem for a Heavyweight" as a New Orleans funeral. "The first movement (Getting There) is a dirge. We solemnly march to the cemetery. Each musician gets a chance to testify when he gets the feeling. The second movement (The Long Ride Home) is a train ride. All the way home, we celebrate a rich and joyous life.

"I tried to incorporate my deep feeling for my old friend and to couch these feelings in music that he would like," Berger added. "I could hear him play every note of the piece; each part is his part. My only regret is that he won't be here to play it with us. Although he won't be here in body, perhaps he will be with us in spirit, inspiring us to reach deep inside and express the music that is in our hearts."

Berger also will conduct Drake Jazz Ensemble I in performing some of Maxwell's favorite music, including Louis Armstrong's "Struttin' with Some Barbecue," Count Basie's "Jumpin' at the Woodside," Benny Goodman's "Big John's Special" and Duke Ellington's "Rockin' in Rhythm."

Drake Jazz Ensemble I recently won the college big band division of the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Jazz Festival for the fourth time in as many appearances there. Colleges and universities from across the Midwest compete for this honor. Jason Klobnak, a junior trumpet major, won the outstanding soloist of the festival award and received a scholarship to attend an adult jazz camp this summer.