Trumpeter Kenny Rampton to Perform Oct. 28

Acclaimed trumpeter Kenny Rampton is guest soloist at The University of Scranton’s Jazz Band performance on Oct. 28
Acclaimed trumpeter Kenny Rampton is the guest soloist at The University of Scranton’s Jazz Band performance on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.
Acclaimed trumpeter Kenny Rampton is the guest soloist at The University of Scranton’s Jazz Band performance on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Kenny Rampton, a longtime trumpeter with Wynton Marsalis’s Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, will serve as guest soloist when The University of Scranton Jazz Band performs an evening of big band music Saturday, Oct. 28.

Presented by Performance Music at The University of Scranton, the concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga first met Rampton through her longtime friend Marsalis.

“Great guy, great teacher, great colleague,” said Boga, noting Rampton was originally slated to make his Performance Music debut last spring, but a last-minute illness forced him to cancel.

Boga said concertgoers can expect a varied affair when the 25-piece Jazz Band, made up of University students from all different majors, takes the stage with Rampton.

“We’ll perform ‘Portrait of Louis Armstrong,’ by Duke Ellington, because you kind of can’t have one of Wynton’s trumpeters here and not take the opportunity to feature that,” Boga said. “We’ll do one or two charts from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Library. We’ll do some big band arrangements of Ray Charles charts.”

Earlier that day, Rampton will give a free masterclass for local amateur and professional brass players, ages 16 and up. Those interested in taking part in the class should email music@scranton.edu for more information.

Marsalis and Charles are but two of many music icons that Rampton has collaborated with throughout his illustrious career.

Besides his longtime affiliation with Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rampton also provides the voice of the trumpet on “Sesame Street.” He has toured the world with Charles and the popular rock band Matchbox Twenty, and has performed as a sideman with Mingus Epitaph (under the direction of Gunther Schuller), Bebo Valdez’ Latin Jazz All-Stars, Maria Schneider, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Dr. John, Lionel Hampton, Jon Hendricks, Illinois Jacquet, Geoff Keezer and Christian McBride.

In addition, Rampton leads his own quintet and performs with the Mingus Big Band, the Mingus Orchestra, the Mingus Dynasty, George Gruntz’ Concert Jazz Band and the Manhattan Jazz Orchestra (under the direction of Dave Matthews). He has numerous Broadway and commercial jingle credits, has played on hundreds of jazz, R&B, blues, pop and hip-hop recordings, and is an in-demand studio trumpeter.

For further information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more on Rampton, visit kennyrampton.com.

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