Rootabaga Jazz Festival

The 2021 Knox-Rootabaga Festival from April 16-17, 2021 features Greg Ward's Rogue Parade, Soul Message, Tito Carrillo along with Knox Jazz Ensembles. 

All shows livestreamed on the Knox College YouTube Channel  and the Central Illinois Jazz Society (CIJS) Facebook Page from the Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg.  A limited audience of 70 people per concert will be allowed at each show.  Masks and distancing will be strictly enforced. To allow for distancing, tickets will be sold by the Orpheum Theatre for $5, and all proceeds will benefit the Orpheum Theatre.  www.galesburgorpheum.org (309) 342-2299.

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View the 2021 Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival Program

April 16, 2021

Soul Message
7pm & 9pm

Soul Message has a soulful and infectious style crafted around funky grooves, and its sound is rooted in the tradition of great Hammond B3 organists like Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Charles Earland and Groove Holmes. The Soul Message Band consists of Chris Foreman, the Chicago-based and nationally celebrated Hammond B3 Jazz organist; He and drummer  Greg Rockingham have an over twenty-five year history of performing and collaborating in several group settings, from Chicago to Jazz Clubs and Arenas all around the world as both headliners and in support of artists like Steely Dan. Other band members include guitarist Lee Rothenberg an in-demand sideman in the Chicago Jazz scene and saxophonist Geof Bradfield.  

April 17, 2021

Rootabaga Kids: Soul Message
10am. Kids are free with a $5 paid adult ticket

Greg Ward's Rogue Parade 
4pm & 7pm

Rogue Parade is an ensemble that was created by saxophonist and composer Greg Ward.  In late 2015, Ward returned to Chicago after 6 years in New York City.  In February 2016, Ward was contacted by The Whistler, one of Chicago’s newer bar and venues, about presenting a concert for their Relax Attack Jazz Series.  For this performance, Ward assembled a group of highly-creative musicians featuring Dave Miller on guitar and effects, Matt Gold on guitar and effects, Matt Ulery on upright and electric bass, and Quin Kirchner on drums.  He also composed a new set of music with the purpose of exploring this unique instrumentation, which blends the acoustic and electronic sonic worlds. Rogue Parade released an award winning album featuring 11 new compositions in on Greenleaf Music and has toured the U.S. and Europe.

Rootabaga Jazz School Tour

Continuing our mission for educational outreach, the Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival is proud to sponsor The Rootabaga Jazz School Tour featuring trumpeter Tito Carrillo. The Tito Carrillo School Tour group presented virtual assemblies entitled, “A Walk through Jazz History” at grade schools, junior highs and high schools throughout the region and given the virtual nature of this year's Rootabaga Jazz School Tour, these presentations are available to share with the whole community. The group features Knox adjunct faculty Jason Brannon (drums), Whitney Ashe (piano) and Andy Crawford (bass).  Videos were made by Eric Hanson and audio by Bill Duncan. Tito Carrillo is a trumpeter, educator, bandleader, composer, and arranger, and since 1996 he has been a fixture in the Chicago jazz and Latin music scenes. The list of artists he has performed, recorded, and toured with is as varied as his skill set: including Kurt Elling, Tito Puente, and Phil Collins. He is Associate Professor of Jazz Trumpet at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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