This weekend hundreds of musicians, from elementary school aged children to seasoned veterans, are visiting the University of Idaho for the 53rd annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.
Ryan Beery, UI first year student, will be playing in the upcoming Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.
His passion originally sparked when he found his grandfather’s old saxophone in their barn. In the fifth grade he started learning how to play the baritone saxophone and has been playing for nearly nine years.
Beery practices seven days a week and has been preparing rigorously for Jazz Fest, along with the rest of the musicians who will be playing this weekend.
Amy Beck | Courtesy
“It’s really an honor because this festival has a lot of history. It’s actually the only music school in the country named after both an African American and a jazz musician,” Beery said.
He is playing Friday morning in a workshop and in Friday night’s headlining band.
Similar to Beery, Josh Nelson, UI first year student, has played since he was young. His interest in music started in middle school and he has been playing ever since. Nelson has played in Jazz Fest every year since his sophomore year of high school.
“It’s slightly part of the reason I came here, because I was familiar with the school,” Nelson said.
Faith Bigler | Courtesy
Graham Everhart is another Jazz Fest musician playing this weekend. He plays the bass trombone and started playing music in fifth grade.
“I picked (the trombone) for a rather selfish reason,” Everhart said. “I anticipated it would be the least popular of the band instruments, so I would theoretically have the least competition.”
He is currently a student at Edmonds-Woodway Highschool in Edmond, Washington. Everhart will be playing with his high school band in the festival.
He enjoys the adventure and change of scenery when he comes to the festival. He said he also benefits from the workshops during the day because he always learns something new.
“It’s interesting how the university tries to rope in other academic departments into the jazz festival,” Everhart said. “I (went to) a clinic about the relationship between mathematics and music. It was terrific, but then next year there was a jazz and international relations seminar.”
A full list of events and concerts this weekend can be found on UI’s website.
Grayson Houston can be reached at arg_life@uidaho.edu