WSU Jazz Invitational

Friday, April 25, 2025

The WSU Jazz Invitational is an annual celebration of jazz and jazz education, held every April in partnership with the 麻豆破解版 Jazz Festival. This full-day event brings together student big bands from across the region for performances, adjudications, and educational clinics led by distinguished jazz educators.

The invitational culminates in a headline concert featuring a renowned jazz artist performing with WSU鈥檚 Jazz Arts 1 Ensemble and the Mid-Kansas Jazz Ensemble, the region鈥檚 only auditioned high school honor jazz band.

Event Highlights

Student Performances 鈥� Middle school, high school, and collegiate big bands from across Kansas and surrounding states take the stage.
Educational Clinics 鈥� Ensembles receive coaching from leading jazz educators and professional musicians.
Headline Concert 鈥� A world-class jazz artist performs with WSU鈥檚 top jazz ensembles.
Partnership with the 麻豆破解版 Jazz Festival 鈥� The invitational serves as the Friday programming for this multi-day festival, which has brought jazz luminaries to 麻豆破解版 for over 50 years.

About the 麻豆破解版 Jazz Festival

Founded more than five decades ago, the 麻豆破解版 Jazz Festival is one of the longest-running events of its kind in the country. Each year, the festival presents performances, workshops, and educational opportunities, keeping jazz thriving in the 麻豆破解版 community.

The WSU Jazz Invitational is one of the School of Music鈥檚 most visible events, bringing together students, educators, and artists to celebrate the power of jazz.

Event Schedule (Coming Soon!)

Email William Flynn With Questions

2025 Guest Artists

Pat Bianchi

Pat Bianchi biography

Pat Bianchi has never been afraid to take the concepts of 鈥淛azz Organ鈥� into new directions. His playing draws from a wide range of musical influences including organists Dr. Lonnie Smith and Joey DeFrancesco (both who mentored Bianchi in his early years) but also encompasses other instrumentalists and approaches that stretch beyond the Hammond B-3 world. The result is a unique and creative voice of the organ that acknowledges the tradition while looking forward at the same moment.

As a leader, Bianchi has toured extensively through the United States and Europe, appeared at numerous jazz festivals and in recent years his trio has opened for Steely Dan for 3 separate east coast tours. In addition to being a prolific bandleader, the Grammy-nominated organist was a longtime member of the trio led by late guitar icon Pat Martino as well as NEA Jazz Master Lou Donaldson's Quartet. Pat has also enjoyed tenured memberships in the bands of some of the most highly revered artists in jazz including; Joe Locke, Chuck Loeb and Ralph Peterson Jr.

Additional performance credits include: Red Holloway, Terrace Martin, Mark Whitfield, Terell Stafford, Dakota Staton, Javon Jackson, Peter Bernstein and Tim Warfield among many others. With 9 CD releases as a leader and appearing on over 40 additional recordings as a guest artist, Bianchi continues to be in high demand. His command of the instrument, harmonic prowess, rhythmic intensity and versatility are rivaled by few.

While maintaining an active performance schedule, Bianchi also teaches jazz organ classes and lessons at Berklee College of Music. He also shares his deep knowledge and love of jazz organ history as host of the weekly Sirius XM show Organized.

Dan Wilson

Dan Wilson biography

Growing up in Akron, Ohio, Dan Wilson spent the majority of his youth within the church community, where his musical path began.

Traces of his major guitar influences 鈥� including Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, and George Benson to name a few 鈥� can be discerned through his playing, but his musical identity has been shaped by everything from gospel and blues to traditional jazz, hip-hop and horn players like Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.

After graduating from Hiram College, Wilson made his recording debut with pianist Joe McBride and performed to worldwide acclaim with Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride鈥檚 Tip City, eventually recording his debut as a leader To Whom It May Concern.

Wilson has had the honor of sharing the stage with jazz greats including Eric Marienthal, Russell Malone, Les McCann, Ren茅 Marie, Jeff Hamilton, David Sanborn and Dave Stryker. He also teaches jazz guitar and music theory through private lessons.

Wilson鈥檚 career took him on an exploratory journey into foundations laid down by the guitar/organ tradition, eventually leading to an invitation to perform with jazz great Joey DeFrancesco鈥檚 trio quartet, with which Wilson went on to earn a GRAMMY庐 Award nomination with for DeFrancesco鈥檚 Project Freedom album (Mack Avenue Records, 2017).

This collaboration allowed the guitarist to insert his own dialect into the musical prowess and respect that DeFrancesco had earned throughout his journey.

Wilson had been playing with DeFrancesco for a few years when he met bassist, composer, arranger, Christian McBride. From there, Wilson went on to tour with McBride鈥檚 trio Tip City, eventually leading McBride to serve as producer on "Vessels of Wood and Earth" and release the album on his newly formed imprint Brother Mister Productions through Mack Avenue Music Group.

The album was released on April 23, 2021 and is available on all platforms.

2025 Judges

Kris Berg

Berg Biography

Kris Berg is an international best-selling composer and arranger. He has written charts for Kurt Elling, Sean Jones, Veronica Swift, Delfeayo Marsalis, Wayne Bergeron and Chris Vadala, for honors bands in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, South Carolina, Maine, Maryland and Missouri, and for professional, college and public-school bands around the globe. Kris is also the author of the popular bass method book, BASS LINES IN MINUTES, available at . His charts are available through Alfred Music, Kendor Music, C.L. Barnhouse, Doug Beach Music, Excelcia Music, krisbergjazz.com and J.W. Pepper.

Mr. Berg has released three highly acclaimed CD鈥檚 (Summit Records) as leader of his Metroplexity Big Band. 鈥淭ime Management鈥�, winner of two Global Music Awards, and 鈥淭his Time/Last Year鈥� feature special guests such as Phil Woods, Wayne Bergeron, Delfeayo Marsalis, Chris Vadala, Clay Jenkins and others. His new release, 鈥淧erspectives,鈥� featuring Randy Brecker, Eric Marienthal and others was just released this fall and has garnered 5 Global Music awards.

Mr. Berg is the Artistic Director for Jazz for the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra foundation and directs the GDYO Jazz Orchestra. Prior to this, he taught college for almost 30 years and is the founder of the award-winning Jazz Program at Collin College.

An award-winning bassist, director and educator, and a clinician for the Yamaha Corporation, Mr. Berg regularly appears at jazz festivals and camps throughout the United States and is endorsed by Bag End Loudspeakers. He has been selected as director for the IAJE International Community College All-Star Jazz Band, and has directed All-State Jazz Bands in Nebraska, Montana, Oklahoma, Maine, South Carolina, Arkansas, South Dakota, Nevada, Kentucky, Ohio, Arizona, Texas, and Wyoming. Kris loves nothing more than to work with young musicians. Invitations gladly accepted.

Please find Kris at , 鈥淜ris Berg Jazz鈥� on Facebook, or email at kris@krisbergjazz.com. All charts and CD鈥檚 are available at the website.

Stanton Kessler

Kessler Biography

Stan Kessler is a Trumpet / Flugelhorn Player, Band Leader, Clinician, and Educator in the Kansas City area. He also does extensive writing and arranging for small groups.

He is currently leading The Sons of Brasil (32 years), The Stan Kessler Quartet/ Trio/Duo (28 years), Stan Kessler's TV (3 years), HoraceScope (9 years), Passport (7) years), Parallax, (6 years).

Stan has 7 recording projects to his credit as leader, and has produced another 6 projects for other artists.

For 22 years Stan maintained an adjunct position at The University of Missouri at Kansas City in Jazz trumpet, theory and improvisation, and music business classes. For 17 years Stan has been on faculty of KC Youth Jazz and Metro Jazz Workshop and The Kansas City Jazz Academy.

Stan was voted Best Trumpet Player and Leader of the Best Jazz Band (SOBs) in KC by the Pitch Readers鈥� Poll. He was deemed Musician of The Year by blogger Plastic Sax in 2013 and favorite trumpet player of 2022 by JAM Magazine. In 2023 Stan revived The Ellington Family Jazz Educator Award. He was voted Favorite Trumpet Player by the readers of The Jazz Ambassador Magazine in 2022 and 2023.

He has appeared in concert with Clark Terry, Paquito D'Rivera, Gary Foster, Karrin Allyson, Steve Cardenas, Kevin Mahogany, Bobby Watson, Kim Park, Matt Otto and Carl Allen, Adam Larson, The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and many others. Visit him at stantonkessler.com

Aryana Nemati

Nemati Biography

Kansas City native Aryana Nemati has a true passion for music. Aryana pursued her musical aspirations at UMKC鈥檚 conservatory where she received her bachelor鈥檚 degree in Jazz Performance/Studio Music. In the spring of 2017, Nemati completed her teaching assistantship and received a master鈥檚 degree in Jazz Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has been a featured artist for Kansas City鈥檚 Open Spaces festival, Columbia, Missouri鈥檚 We Always Swing jazz series, Topeka鈥檚 Jazz Series and was a selected participant to represent Kansas City in a musical exchange to Chile through UNESCO. In addition to an active performance schedule, she contributes to the Kansas City community by providing music education through private lessons, ensemble coaching, an adjunct saxophone professorship at Kansas City Kansas Community College, and is a woodwind tech at Heritage Music Repair. She has had the honor of performing with the following: Harry Connick Jr., Bobby Watson, Mindi Abair, The Four Tops, Sister Carol, Father John Misty, Harold 鈥楽pike鈥� Bonhart, and Ernie Andrews.

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