09/24 - Friday :: The Jazz Knights

The Jazz Knight's Website

For over thirty years the United States Military Academy Band’s Jazz Knights have brought musical excellence and variety to their audiences by presenting the best of big band jazz and popular music. Members of the group are graduates of America's finest music schools. They are recruited and selected through a competitive audition process specifically for service in the United States Military Academy Band at West Point. Members of the band have played with such jazz icons as Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Ahmad Jamal and the Glenn Miller Band.

The Jazz Knights’ highlights over the years include playing with Benny Goodman at Lincoln Center in 1982, performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for the 200th Anniversary of the New York State Legislature, and twice appearing at the Hatch Shell for Boston's Independence Day celebration. The Jazz Knights have also performed for festivals and music educators' conventions, including International Association of Jazz Educators conventions, the Western International Band Clinic, the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Festival and the International Society of Bassists' convention. Notable guests who have performed with the Jazz Knights include David Liebman, Jim Pugh, Scott Robinson, Emil Richards, Byron Stripling, John Clayton, Eddie Daniels, Steve Turre and James Carter.

At West Point, the Jazz Knights provide music for numerous functions throughout the year. In combination with the Concert Band and field music unit, the Hellcats, they help fulfill official musical requirements of the Military Academy and the Army, including military and patriotic ceremonies both at West Point and throughout the country. The Jazz Knights also perform for the summer concert series at the Trophy Point Amphitheatre and for the winter concert series at Eisenhower Hall. By recreating the sounds of the greatest big bands, as well as performing the innovative styles of today, they enjoy resounding approval from all who have the opportunity to hear them..