Jazz Tuesdays w/ Walter Blanding, Randy Napoleon, Jim Alfredson, Jeff Shoup (4/2/2024)

We are thrilled to present two giants of jazz this week - Walter Blanding and Randy Napoleon! Saxophonist Walter Blanding is the most recent addition to the MSU Professors of Jazz, but he has also long been associated with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. A short list of the many, many great artists with whom he's worked includes Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, Count Basie Orchestra, Cab Calloway, Branford Marsalis, Illinois Jacquet Big Band, Roy Hargrove, and Tony Bennett. Randy Napoleon is an Ann Arbor native, and lived many years on the scene in NYC before joining the MSU faculty in 2014. He has worked with Benny Green, Michael Buble, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, and spent a long tenure with the great Freddy Cole. Walter and Randy are backed up by Jazz Tuesdays house rhythm section, Jim Alfredson, keys, and Jeff Shoup, drums. Special thanks to our longtime sponsor Gregg Hill and Cold Plunge Records. Thanks also to Casio Music USA and Law Office of Trent Harris.