THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MUSIC Presents
JAZZ ENSEMBLE I
Leon Anderson, Jr., Director
with special guest
Vincent Gardner, Trombone
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Seven-thirty in the Evening
Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
Live: wfsu.org/fsumusic
PROGRAM
Giant Steps John Coltrane arr. Mark Taylor
Desfinado Antonio Carlos Jobim Frank Mantooth
The Thespian
Contemplation
El Camino Real
INTERMISSION
Freddie Redd arr. Vincent Gardner
Wayne Shorter arr. Sherman Irby
Alfred Reed
Lorenzo’s Wings Paquito D’ Rivera arr. Michael Philip Mossman
Day Dream Duke Ellington arr. Lennie Niehaus
November 15th
Another Star
Kenny Garrett arr. Vincent Gardner
Stevie Wonder arr. Vincent Gardner
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting while performers are playing. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Please turn off cell phones and all other electronic devices. Please refrain from putting feet on seats and seat backs. Children who become disruptive should be taken out of the performance hall so they do not disturb the musicians and other audience members.
Jazz Ensemble I Personnel
Leon Anderson, Jr., Director
Vocals
Eden Rewa
Saxophone
Carter Hetz - alto, soprano, clarinet
Owen Robinson - alto, clarinet, tenor
Kaeden Parks - alto, flute
Brant Rosemann - tenor, bass clarinet
Aidan May - tenor, clarinet, flute, piccolo
Joshua Spraker - baritone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Trombone
Hannah Duhon
Zach Urbine
August Romain
Gamaliel Harris
Brent Creekmore (bass)
Trumpet
Kate Moncada
Christian Medina
Roman Ullian
Nelson Keakopa-Udofia
Moses Payton
Rhythm Section
Blake Dwelle, piano
Ethan Broome, piano
Ari Pereira, guitar
Kaleb Thompkins, bass
Ian Ragsdale, bass
Alex Barry, bass
Bryce Schlachter, drums
Keegan Mack, drums
Reid Cress, drums
Sebastian Salas, percussion
Professor of Jazz Studies Leon Anderson, Jr., joined the Florida State University faculty in 1998. His musical experience includes that of a classical and jazz percussionist, educator, clinician, and composer. Anderson earned the B.A. degree in Music Education at Louisiana Tech University and the M.A. degree in Percussion Performance at Southeastern Louisiana University. His mentors have included Ellis Marsalis, Willis Delony, and Victor Goines of the New Orleans jazz scene, as well as the late bassist Ben Tucker. Anderson currently teaches drum set, jazz ensembles, jazz combo, and jazz history at the FSU College of Music.
In 1997 Anderson was a featured soloist with The Marcus Roberts Trio’s performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl and he was the selected drummer for the “Great Saxophone Legends” concert at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, featuring Jimmy Heath, David Sanchez, Javon Jackson and Red Holloway.
Anderson also has performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in roles of drummer and percussionist. Additionally, he has performed with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra with the Ellis Marsalis Trio; National Orchestra de France with the Marcus Roberts Trio conducted by Seiji Ozawa; Umbria Jazz Festival, Perugia Italy; Ingolstadt Jazztage in Ingolstadt Bavaria; Switzerland Jazz Festival in Basel, Switzerland; North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Ascona Jazz Festival in Ascona, Switzerland.
His professional recordings include Victor Goines’ Joe’s Blues (1998), Marcus Roberts’ Cole After Midnight Vol. 1 (1998); To Those We Love So Dearly (1999) with Victor Goines; Sunrise to Midnight (2000) The Victor Goines Quartet; Five By Design’s Club Swing (2001); Richie Summa’s Tear It Down (2001); Etienne Charles’ Culture Shock (2006); David Detweiler’s New York Stories (2009); Melvin Jones’ (Grammy nominated) Pivot, (2011); Larry Panella’s The Gestures Project (2012); and Joy Road Vol. 2 (The Complete Works of Pepper Adams) with the Kevin Bales Quartet (2017).
His professional collaborations include performances with numerous artists: David Sanchez, Red Holloway, Donald Brown, Wynton Marsalis, Mike Wolf, Nathen Page, Allan Harris, Stephanie Nakasien, Phyllis Hyman, Barry Greene, Dianne Reeves, Harold Baptiste, Donald Harrison, Mary Stallings, Judy Collins, Wessell Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Kent Jordan, Oliver Lake, James Moody, Deborah Brown, Rufus Reid, Henry Mancini, Art Farmer, Jason Marsalis, Eric Reed, Sean Jones, Oliver Lake, Delfeayo Marsalis, Victor Goines, Ellis Marsalis, Lou Donaldson, Hank Jones, Ben Tucker, Terence Blanchard, Bunky Greene, Carmen Bradford, Byron Stripling, Jon Faddis, Rodney Whitaker, Terrell Stafford, Marcus Printup, Larry Panella, Melvin Jones, Mace Hibbard, Gary Motley, Nicholas Payton, Alvin Batiste, and many others.
Anderson has also performed at the International Association of Jazz Education Conference with Bunky Green, Ellis Marsalis and the New Orleans Jazz All-Stars, and has served as an artist/clinician for several jazz festivals in the United States, including the Bill Evans Jazz Festival; Savannah Music Festival (Swing Central Jazz); Loyola University (New Orleans) Jazz Festival; Governor’s Honors Jazz Camp; Broward County All-City Jazz Ensemble; “Jazz in the Schools” program in Jacksonville, FL; Florida Music Educators All-State Jazz Ensemble; Louisiana Music Educators All-State Jazz Ensemble, and numerous All-County Jazz Ensembles throughout the state of Florida.
Anderson has also been featured in a review of the jazz composition “Afro Blue” for the text Teaching Music Through Jazz (December, 2007) and an article entitled “JazzEd Scene” by Steve MacQueen, published in Research and Review (Vol. XIV, No. III, Fall, 2004). He also occupies the drum chair in The Jazz Orchestra at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando, Florida.
At FSU, Anderson continues to implement innovative ways in an effort to enhance and expand the Jazz Program. Since its inception, the program has grown exponentially and yielded numerous successful students, many of whom have solidified careers nationally in Jazz performance and education.
ABOUT THE FEATURED ARTIST
Vincent Gardner was born in Chicago and raised in Hampton, Virginia. He attended Florida A&M University and the University of North Florida, soon connecting with Mercer Ellington, who hired Gardner for his first professional job. After moving to Brooklyn, he completed a world tour with Lauryn Hill, then joined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Gardner has served as instructor at The Juilliard School, visiting instructor at Florida State University and Michigan State University, and adjunct instructor at The New School.
He serves as Director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra, and an instructor at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Swing University. In 2009, Gardner was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center to write The Jesse B. Semple Suite inspired by the short stories of Langston Hughes. Featured on a number of notable recordings, Gardner has recorded five leader CDs for Steeplechase Records.
He earned first place as Rising Star Trombonist in the 2014 DownBeat Critics Poll, and has performed with The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Bobby McFerrin, Harry Connick, Jr., The Saturday Night Live Band, Chaka Khan, A Tribe Called Quest, and many others.
