In September of 2014, GPB-Augusta, in partnership with The Greater Augusta Arts Council, Garden City Jazz, and The Augusta University Department of Music, launched the ground-breaking “Jazz at the G” concert series.  The goals were simple:

  • To elevate the profile of the Radio Station and the University in the Arts & Culture sector;
  • To invite our neighbors in the Greater Augusta area to visit the University Campus;
  • To provide opportunities for University Music students to interact with professional musicians

By most measures, the concert series has been a rousing success, bringing thousands of music fans, students and musicians together under the GPB-Augusta banner.

In 2015, GRU was renamed Augusta University. That, of course, meant we needed a new name for the concert series as well. Dr. Rob Foster, Director of AU’s Jazz Ensemble and Music Department Professor, suggested the name, “Straight A Jazz”.

“Straight A Jazz” has multiple meanings.

First, there’s the academic reference. Straight A's imply academic excellence. The Concert Series is housed at an academic institution that strives for excellence in the preparation of students for their life’s work.

Second, the "A" ties into the area's collective pride in Augusta, and the exuberance that burst forth when the name of the University was changed. The "A" also reinforces the connection between the Event, the City, the University, and the Radio Station.

Third, there is a sub-genre within jazz called "Straight Ahead". It tends to be the most eclectic and, some would say, "creative" sub-genre. Practitioners are certainly not bound by the normal "rules" of composition, musical scales, harmonies, etc. They tend to step beyond what has already been done and re-invent norms. This plays into the idea that creativity is prized, valued, and encouraged in the musicians who perform on stage, and in the AU Music students with whom they might interact. 

With the new name comes a new logo, designed by Alison Rohdy, a graphic artist in Augusta University’s Division of Communications & Marketing. The new logo was designed to communicate that the Concert Series strives to be excellent, that the concerts are part of the fabric of the City of Augusta and Augusta University, and that the events support and encourage the creativity inherent in the musicians who take the stage.

The first concert presented under the “Straight A Jazz” banner is set for Saturday September 24th at 6pm at The D. Douglas Barnard Amphitheatre on Augusta University’s Summerville Campus.The featured performer is two-time Grammy nominee Russell Gunn, a contemporary Neo-bop jazz trumpeter/flugelhornist/composer who has released more than a dozen recordings during his 20-plus year career, including “Krunk Jazz” and “Ethnomusicology vols. 1 - 4”. Gunn will be performing with “The Gray Mayfield Trio”.

Also scheduled to perform are the Columbia, SC-based Reggie Sullivan Trio and  The AU Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Rob Foster.

Admission is $10.00 for the general public, $5.00 for AU Faculty, Staff and Active Military, and free for all students. Tickets are available at The Maxwell Theatre Box Office during regular business hours, and online at Augusta.UniversityTickets.com.

#StraightAJazz