Jazz saxophonist James Carter joined the Southeastern Jazz Combos and Jazz Ensemble II for the 12th annual Bill Evans Jazz Festival. The recital was the last under the direction of Dr. Richard A. Schwartz, assistant director of bands, director of Southeastern Jazz Ensemble and instructor of saxophone, who has worked at Southeastern for nine years.
Schwartz has directed jazz ensembles every semester during his time at the university, and he will now be moving on to Eastern New Mexico University in the fall.
“It’s very bittersweet,” said Schwartz. “I would have liked to have stayed, but I know I need to move on. I had a fantastic nine years at Southeastern, and I’m really going to miss it.”
Schwartz’s goal has been to bring one professional musician to Southeastern to teach and perform with his music students each semester. For this concert, Schwartz was able to recruit Carter, who came and taught a master class on Thursday, May 2 before the recital.
“The interaction aspect of it was paramount in deciding that we were going to be able to work hands on,” said Carter. “We really got involved in dealing with the art of the moment and being as organically creative as possible. You ever heard of thinking outside of the box? Well, for a music student it’s thinking outside of the page. It reiterated that there’s always other organic things to do and eventually apply when one’s playing. I’m learning as well, too. Nobody is exempt from learning.”
In Jazz Combos, a few students were given the opportunity to show off their creativity through improvisation during their solo performances.
“They did wonderfully. They put on a great show,” said Schwartz of the students. “That’s my master plan, to bring in a really well-known jazz artist every semester in order to get the students to work harder and be better prepared. They are always enthused to work with internationally renowned jazz artists.”
According to senior music education major and saxophonist Zakkary Garner, working with Carter was an unforgettable learning experience.  
“James Carter is truly one of a kind,” said Garner. “Getting to work with him has been an experience that I will always treasure and will continually be humbled by.”
Garner was able to perform in both Jazz Combo I and Jazz Ensemble II. In addition to performing with a professional saxophonist, Garner also had the opportunity to take over as conductor for one song in a Jazz Ensemble II performance.
“Conducting ‘Moten Swing’ was great,” said Garner. “Dr. Schwartz also allowed me to rehearse the group on this selection throughout the semester, which is an excellent opportunity as a developing educator. I am very grateful for having worked with Jazz Ensemble II under the direction of Dr. Richard Schwartz for the past four years, and I am a much better musician because of experiences such as [these].”
The 2013 Bill Evans Jazz Festival was sponsored in part by the Southeastern Arts and Lectures Committee, the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of Fine and Performing Arts.
For information on upcoming arts events, visit the Department of Fine and Performing Arts page on the Southeastern website.