The MSU Jazz Studies program presents the Jazz Spectacular Festival featuring guest bassist and composer John Clayton. The long-awaited live celebration of 40 years of Jazz Spectacular at MSU includes a three-day lineup of activities kicking off on Thursday, Apr. 21, and concluding with the finale concert on Saturday, Apr. 23. Click here to browse the events in this series.

This year’s celebration will brim with the energy and excitement of live performance after canceling the event in 2020 and presenting virtual performances in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, live and in-person, four MSU Jazz Octets start things off Thursday by blending the sounds of big band with small group performance featuring guest bassist John Clayton, led by MSU Jazz Studies faculty-artists Diego Rivera, Randy Napoleon, Michael Dease and Xavier Davis. Friday features the crowd favorite Swing Dance with MSU Jazz Orchestras, led by Director of Jazz Studies Rodney Whitaker with faculty-artist Anthony Stanco and graduate assistant Sam Corey, where the audience is invited to get up and move to toe-tapping repertoire. 

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