17th UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival presented live from the University of Central Florida in Orlando
Standard Tickets: $25 • UCF Faculty & Staff: $10
FREE for students with valid I.D.
Nicholson Communication and Media auditorium, UCF Main Campus
SATURDAY, FEB. 22, 2025
8 p.m.
Pat Bianchi, Rodney Jones, McClenty Hunter & Jeff Rupert
Mitch Frohman and The Bronx Horns
Saxophonist and flautist Mitch Frohman is well known for his 25-year stint with the Tito Puente Orchestra as well as his time in the Mongo Santamaria band. Frohman is leader/co-leader of three in-demand Latin and Latin-Jazz groups.
The Bronx Horns have established themselves as one of the best Latin Jazz and Salsa bands on the scene today. The band features Frohman, Jeremy Bosch on vocal & flute, Manuel ‘Maneco’ Ruiz on trumpet, Zaccai Curtis on piano, Gerardo Madera on bass, Willie Martinez on drums/timbales, and Marcos Torres on congas.
Pat Bianchi and Rodney Jones
Pat Bianchi is an American jazz organist from New York, known for playing the Hammond B-3 organ. A prolific bandleader, the Grammy-nominated organist draws from a wide range of musical influences. Bianchi teaches at Berklee College of Music and hosts the weekly Sirius XM show Organized.
Rodney Jones is a revolutionary jazz guitarist who fuses the raw power of the blues with the harmonic innovations of John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner. Rodney has worked with Jaki Byard, Chico Hamilton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lena Horne, and is also known for his work as a bandleader. He is cited as a jazz guitarist who uses modern quartal harmony and is a faculty member at The Juilliard School.
Jeff Rupert and McClenty Hunter
Rupert and Hunter are lauded jazz professionals and faculty members at the University of Central Florida.
Jeff Rupert has recorded and toured alongside Maynard Ferguson, Sam Rivers, Diane Schuur, Mel Torme, and Benny Carter to name a few. His latest album includes contributions from legends Kenny Barron Joe Farnsworth, and Peter Washington.
A Grammy-nominated jazz drummer, McClenty Hunter, Jr. has performed with jazz legends like Cedar Walton, Lou Donaldson and Kenny Barron and has appeared at major festivals including the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival.