Overjoyed wasn’t the first choice for the theme of this year’s University of Akron Jazz Week ’26 that begins today. “At first we said gratitude, but there was something about it that wasn’t as killing,” said Chris Coles, who curates the four-day celebration and festival with his fellow UA faculty member and frequent musical collaborator Theron Brown.
“But one day I was thinking about how much history we have here in the University of Akron sphere and how that goes all the way back to Howard Street,” Coles said. “Then you go down this list of all these fantastic musicians that have come through the school. And you think [about how] this is the largest that this program has been since 2020. You can’t help but be overjoyed to see it continuing to grow.”
At a time when universities in Ohio and beyond are cutting back support for music programs and even shuttering them, what is happening at US is joyful indeed. That certainly applies for students and faculty, and this week at least, for those of us who love the music.
So what can we expect? I’ll let the distinguished professor explain.
UA Wind Symphony presents Bernstein’s “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs”
JT’s Electric Blackout
Monday, April 13, 7:30 p.m., Guzzetta Recital Hall
“Prelude Fugue and Riffs.” That’s the great work by Leonard Bernstein, written for wind symphony that’s basically a jazz ensemble. It looks like a big band, but written for wind symphony and solo clarinet, to be performed by our clarinet professor here, Dr. Stanislav Golovin, and conducted by Dr. Galen Karriker. The students have been working really hard on that., and we’re going to have this Third Stream concert for the first half.
Akron celebrity Justin Tibbs is bringing his group, JT’s Electric Blackout to play. He’s a fan favorite and he loves working with our students. He’s like been working with them all year, helping them get through things. So the students love him, but the community–he’s a community butterfly. He’s all over the place. So it made sense to have him open up the concert here.
Jennifer Wharton’s Bonegasm with UA Jazz Studies at BLU Jazz+
Tuesday, April 14, 7:30 p.m., BLU Jazz+
Jennifer Wharton’s Bonegasm will come into town, and they’re going to work with our students Tuesday morning and Tuesday afternoon. And then the Birth of the Cool ensemble and Bonegasm are gonna play at BLU Jazz. Jen’s a great, great educator and a fantastic player. I mean, you don’t become first call trombone for Broadway shows and not be a good player. For any large group that’s happening in New York City, she’s first call.
Wave Magnetik with UA Jazz Studies
Wednesday, April 15, 7:30 p.m., Musica
Then Wednesday we have one of our jazz combos and Wave Magnetik playing at Musica. That’s a free concert with a 7:30 start at Musica.
Sharel Cassity with UA Jazz Combo and UA Jazz Ensemble
Thursday April, 16, 7:30 p.m., EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall
Thursday we have a big blow-down at EJ Thomas with our combo and the jazz ensemble playing with Sharel Cassity, who’s our Bittle Jazz Residency Artist along with Jennifer Ward this year. We’re doing some original music by a couple of the players in the group and some arrangements of tunes that I thought would be good for them to learn. We have a couple local compositions as well. I’ll be playing alto in that group and actually Vocoder too. So I’ll make my University of Akron singing debut.
Coles will make another debut at UA Jazz Week: as the Jazz Journalists Association 2026 Akron Jazz Hero, an award I will have the honor of presenting. This honor is given to persons in communities across the globe for their dedication to sustaining and growing the music.
As an educator, Coles has done that through leading by example. He’s a frequent presence on bandstands throughout the area, often alongside his students. It’s not something every musician embraces. “If I don’t do it who will, you know what I mean?” he said.
“If we’re not playing with the students and saying we want to go in this direction, if we don’t do that, then who’s going to teach them? In order for this music to live, we’ve got to be teaching it to those that are coming after us. And if we’re standing on the shoulders of the ancestors, they can stand on our shoulders and see even further. That’s what we’re supposed to be, gateways to the future.
The University of Akron School of Performing Arts Jazz Studies Department presents JazzWeek 26: Overjoyed, Monday, April 13 – Thursday, April 16 at various sites in Akron for ticketed and free events. Ticket and other information here.
For the most complete listing of jazz and jazz-adjacent events., look to Jim Szabo’s essential, weekly Northeast Ohio jazz calendar.
NOTE: This article was written by a real human being. No artificial intelligence or generative language models were used in its creation.
Don’t comply in advance,
jc
