The award-winning Elmhurst College Jazz Band will pay tribute to world-renowned jazz composer and arranger Gil Evans in an April 7 concert.

Guest conductor Ryan Truesdell will join Grammy Award winner and Elmhurst College Director of Jazz Studies Doug Beach in directing the Jazz Band in a performance of music made famous by Evans. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, in the College’s Mill Theatre. For more information, call (630) 617-3515 or email [email protected]. Admission is free, and the public is welcome to attend.

The Elmhurst College Jazz Band has performed in concerts and festivals around the world and also hosts the annual Elmhurst College Jazz Festival, one of the oldest and best collegiate jazz festivals in the country. Last spring DownBeat magazine, the most respected jazz magazine in the world, named the Elmhurst College Jazz Band the Best Large Jazz Ensemble in its 37th Annual DownBeat Student Music Awards.

The Jazz Band has toured 17 nations and has been honored twice with invitations from the U.S. State Department to tour Europe. The band has performed frequently with renowned guest artists, including Bobby Shew, Louie Bellson, Pete Christlieb, Conte Candoli, Diane Schuur, Terry Gibbs, Lee Konitz, Denis DiBlasio, Clark Terry, Chris Vadala and Frank Mantooth. In addition, the band has commissioned a number of original works from such well-known composers as Bill Holman, Alan Broadbent and Denis DiBlasio.