Jazz retrospective planned at Pitt State on Wednesday

April is National Jazz Appreciation Month and the Pittsburg State University Jazz Ensemble, directed by Professor Robert Kehle, joined by The Crossroads Jazz Orchestra, directed by Professor Todd Hastings, will be celebrating in a big way on Wednesday, April 19.

A free concert, “Jazz and PSU in Retrospective,” is planned for 7 p.m. at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, 1711 S. Homer.

“We have a very special performance planned that will trace the history of PSU and of Jazz, America’s musical art form,” said Kehle, who will direct a university jazz concert for the last time after a 45-year career in the Music Department.

Special guests will include Pittsburg musician Lemual Sheppard, who is known nationally.

“We’ll take you from the origins of jazz in rural blues through to contemporary jazz sounds,” Kehle said. “We’ll also explore the history of PSU through photos, from the early years of its founding in 1903 to today’s look, all narrated by PSU President Dan Shipp.”