Space Coast Live

Event Story: Mel Tormé says, “He’s dynamite.” Maynard Ferguson says, “He’s one of the great jazz players today.” And the The Star Ledger music critic, George Kanzler says he is “just the kind of soloist needed to spur a band on to heroic heights.” Jeff Rupert is a freelance tenor saxophonist, Yamaha artist and record producer under the Flying Horse label. His performing and recording credits include associations with Diane Schuur, Mel Tormé, Kevin Mahogany, Ernestine Anderson, and Benny Carter’s Grammy winning Harlem Renaissance. Jeff toured for fifteen years with Sam Rivers; four albums ensued. And from 1997 to 2002 he toured and recorded with Maynard Ferguson. Jeff’s nine recordings as a leader all charted on Jazz Week. Do That Again! was #39 out of the top 100 jazz albums of 2014, and En Plein Air: The Jazz Professors play Monet made it to #29. Rupert’s latest release Let’s Sail Away with Veronica Swift, Richard Drexler and Marty Morell was #1 on the jazz charts. He’s performed at some of the best known jazz venues in the world: the Blue Note, Birdland, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Tokyo Forum, the National concert hall of Taipei, Taiwan, and jazz festivals in Europe, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. As a composer and arranger, Jeff has written for Bob Berg, James Moody, Maynard Ferguson, Kenny Drew Jr, Kevin Mahogany and Judy Carmichael. Rupert has produced four big band albums for the Flying Horse Big Band, all featuring original compositions and arrangements. Jeff Rupert is Pegasus Distinguished Professor, Trustee Endowed Chair, and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Central Florida. His latest release as director of UCF’s Flying Horse Big Band is The Bat Swings! — music from the 60’s TV Show, Batman. The album charted on two jazz charts simultaneously. Rupert’s second duo album R & D, with pianist Richard Drexler, was released this past fall. “Jeff Rupert has a classic tenor sound, the virtuosity to execute practically any musical idea, and the imagination to make those ideas worth hearing.” Ed Berger, the Institute of Jazz Studies. Open to the public – general admission tickets can be purchased online or paid at the door, $10 for members of the Jazz Society and Rockledge Country Club, $15 for guests and students are free. Food and beverages are available at an additional cost. The Rockledge Country Club is located at 1591 S. Fiske Blvd., Rockledge, FL 32955. For more information email Jazz@SpaceCoastJazzSociety.org or call (321)960-4897.