The Miguel Zenón Quartet is the featured artist-in-residence for the Jerome Mirza Jazz Residency, hosted by Knox College’s Jazz Studies program. A free concert will take place at 7 pm Friday, January 13, 2023, at the Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg. 

Zenón is a saxophonist, composer, and educator who was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is a multiple Grammy nominee and received Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships. He represents a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists and composers of his generation, he has also developed a unique voice as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between jazz and his many musical influences.

The Miguel Zenón Quartet has recorded and toured for over 20 years and features an international cast of musicians, including Puerto Rican drummer Henry Cole, Venezuelan pianist Luis Perdomo, and Austrian bassist Hans Glawischnig. Zenón's music is the epitome of Latin jazz, with complex rhythms and engrossing tunes as well as more traditionally rooted subjects and musical forms. His records and live concerts are an immersive experience, animating cultural sounds such as the intoxicating plena and the centuries-old jíbara.

Throughout the Mirza residency, Knox student musicians will have the opportunity to work with and learn from Zenón and his band in a series of one-on-one lessons and rehearsals with various ensembles on campus. 

The Mirza Jazz Residency is part of the Knox Jazz Year, which also includes the Fall Jazz Series and the Rootabaga Jazz Festival. The residency will take place January 9-13, with workshops and master classes open to the public throughout the week. Check www.knox.edu/jazzyear for more details.

The Mirza Jazz Residency is funded by the Jerome Mirza Foundation of Bloomington, Illinois. The foundation, which supports programs in education and the arts, was created by a bequest from Jerome Mirza, an attorney who served as president of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and who wrote several books on personal injury law. Mirza’s daughter, Candace Mirza of Wilmette, Illinois, is a 1981 Knox graduate.

The Miguel Zenón Quartet performance can be streamed online at the following links during the performance time.

Knox College Music Youtube

Knox College Music Facebook