Friday, Apr 25, 2025 at 8:00am
Schedule Of Events
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM : WSU Jazz Invitational
The WSU Jazz Invitational is an annual celebration of jazz and jazz education, held in partnership with the Wichita Jazz Festival. This full-day event brings together student big bands from across the region for performances, adjudications, and educational clinics led by distinguished jazz educators. This event is free and open to the public.
Cost : Free
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM : WSU Jazz Invitational Headline Concert featuring guest artists Pat Bianchi and Dan Wilson
The WSU Jazz Invitational will culminate in a headline concert featuring renowned jazz artists Pat Bianchi on organ and Dan Wilson on guitar, performing with WSU's Jazz Arts 1 Ensemble and the Mid-Kansas Jazz Ensemble, the region's only auditioned high school honor jazz band.
Grammy-nominated organist Pat Bianchi has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe, and, in recent years, his trio has opened for Steely Dan. In addition to being a prolific bandleader, Bianchi was a longtime member of the trio led by late guitar icon Pat Martino as well as NEA Jazz Master Lou Donaldson's Quartet. Pat has also enjoyed tenured memberships in the bands of some of the most highly revered artists in jazz, including Joe Locke, Chuck Loeb and Ralph Peterson Jr.
Dan Wilson's musical identity has been shaped by everything from gospel and blues to traditional jazz and hip-hop. He performed to worldwide acclaim with Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride's Tip City and earned a Grammy nomination for DeFrancesco's Project Freedom album. In 2023, Dan released his fourth album "Things Eternal," which received critical acclaim worldwide and led to a tour of major festivals in the U.S. and abroad. Join us for this stellar event as jazz greats perform with the next generation of musicians.
