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Join us for an evening of jazz and poetry with award-winning poet Janice N. Harrington (Creative Writing/English) and musician Charles “Chip” McNeill (Music). Harrington will read selections from her book Yard Show with musical accompaniment by McNeill and student musicians from the University of Illinois School of Music. The book will be available for purchasing and signing.
Janice N. Harrington’s latest book of poetry Yard Show (BOA Editions) investigates how Black Americans have shaped a sense of belonging and place in the Midwestern United States. Harrington is the author of three other books of poetry, Primitive: The Art and Life of Horace H. Pippin (BOA Editions), Even the Hollow My Body Made Is Gone (winner of the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize and the Kate Tufts Discovery Award) and The Hands of Strangers. A Cave Canem Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow, her poems have appeared in The Best American Poetry, Poetry, New England Review, Southern Review, Ploughshares and numerous other leading literary journals. She is an award-winning children’s author and teaches creative writing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Chip McNeill is a Full Professor and Chair of Jazz Performance Studies (Jazz Area) at The University of Illinois School of Music. He was formerly an Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at Florida International University. Prior to that he was an Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at Virginia Tech University for six years. He was formerly the Musical Director and jazz tenor saxophonist for Grammy Award winning jazz trumpet artist Arturo Sandoval and has recorded with Arturo on his CD “Americana” as well as the Grammy Award winning release "Hot House" on Encoded Music. The “Hot House” CD won a Grammy Award for “Best Latin Jazz Performance”. Prior to Arturo Sandoval, Mr. McNeill was the Musical Director and jazz saxophonist for legendary jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. Mr. McNeill produced, wrote, and performed on six CD’s with Maynard Ferguson including his final one “The One And Only” (06), “Swingin’ For Schurr”(’01) Concord Jazz with guest jazz vocalist Diane Schurr, "One More Trip To Birdland" ('96) Concord Jazz, "These Cats Can Swing" ('95) Concord Jazz, "Live From London" ('94) Warner Bros. Jazz, and "Footpath Cafe"('93) Avion Jazz.
Mr. McNeill has performed at countless jazz festivals and clubs around the world such as The North Sea Jazz Festival (The Hague Holland), The Montreaux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), The Monterey Jazz Festival (U.S.A.), The Noto Jazz Festival (Japan), The Wigan Jazz Festival (England), The Pori Jazz Festival (Finland), The Wiesen Jazz Festival (Austria), The Immatra Jazz Festival (Finland), The Warsaw Jazz Festival (Poland), The Capital Jazz Festival (U.S.A.), The Charlotte Jazz Festival (U.S.A.) and clubs such as The Blue Note (New York City), The Blue Note (Tokyo), The Blue Note (Osaka), Blues Alley (Washington D.C.), The House of Blues (Los Angeles), and The Jazz Showcase (Chicago).