Annual festival to promote jazz

   Nationally recognized jazz musicians and up-and-coming musicians will demonstrate their musical talents April 2-4, as the city of Addison hosts the fourth annual North Texas Jazz Festival.
   Performances begin Friday, April 2, at 8 p.m. with the John Pizzarelli Trio featuring Ray Kennedy on piano and Martin Pizzarelli on bass and continue to midnight.
   The University of North Texas Two O’Clock Lab Band will follow the first performance.
   Saturday evening the James Williams Quintet takes the stage followed by the well-known UNT One O’Clock Lab Band.
   Performances begin at 8 p.m. and end at midnight. More information on the UNT One O’Clock Lab band can be found by accessing www.music. unt.edu.
   The performances wrap up Sunday as Sebastian Whittaker and The Creators and Adjudicators Showcase perform from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
   The festival will also display the talents of exceptional student musicians from 44 U.S. schools in 18 states.
   The schedule includes big bands, combos and vocal ensembles representing some of the top programs from a range of schools around the country.
   Select student groups will perform with the headliners in the evening concerts.
   The student concerts will take place April 2-3 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
   The concerts are free and open to the public.
   Tickets for the evening concerts featuring the headliners and select students are $25 for students and $35 for adults.
   A jazz brunch takes place April 4, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for students and $35 for all others. They can be purchased by calling 972-450-6232 or 1-800-ADDISON.
   Jazz scholar Hal Miller will present continuous screenings of rare jazz films from his private collection throughout the festival.
   Miller is the curator of one of the world’s largest personal jazz video collections in the country with more that 9,000 items.
   John McCaa, news anchor for WFAA-TV Channel 8 in Dallas, will serve as master of ceremonies for the Friday evening program.
   Jack Bishop, afternoon weekday host for KAAM-AM 770 in Dallas, will serve as host for the Saturday evening program.
   More information about the fourth annual North Texas Jazz Festival can be found at the Web site www.addisontexas.net.