January 14, 2004

Boise State Presents 13th Annual Vocal Jazz Festival Concert Feb. 19

The 13th annual Boise State University Vocal Jazz Festival will open with an evening concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, featuring the a cappella jazz group JUST4KICKS. The concert will be held in the Boise State Student Union Jordan Ballroom and will begin with the award-winning Boise State Vocal Jazz ensemble under the direction of Boise State music professor Jim Jirak. The concert is open to the public; admission is $3 at the door. JUST4KICKS has been in existence since 1993 and features the singing and arranging talents of Kirby Shaw, Randy Crenshaw, Kirk Marcy and Vijay Singh. The group has recorded three CDs featuring hot jazz solos, tight harmonies, impersonations of various instruments and vocalese, a style of jazz singing made famous by Manhattan Transfer. Shaw, from Ashland, Oregon, is one of the most well known choral and jazz composers/ arrangers of today. Crenshaw is among the first-call studio singers and arrangers in Los Angeles. Four Freshmen alumnus Marcy directs the internationally-acclaimed vocal jazz ensemble Soundsation at Edmonds Community College north of Seattle. Singh, widely known for his versatility as a composer, arranger, soloist and director of the vocal jazz program at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, rounds out the quartet. -30- Contact Jim Jirak Department of music 208 426-4101 Media Contact Kathleen Craven communications and marketing 208 426-3275