In this thrilling, one-night-only performance, the legendary Count Basie Orchestra™ (directed by Scotty Barnhart) takes the stage at the Power Center with the University of Michigan’s Jazz Ensemble, the Michigan Youth Jazz Orchestra, members of the University Symphony Orchestra, select U-M jazz faculty, and special guests Carla Cook, U-M graduate and former Michigan Poet Laureate Nandi Comer, and emcee Mark Stryker. The brainchild of associate professor Dennis Wilson, who has a long and storied history with the Count Basie Orchestra, this concert will feature works written by Wilson that honor Count Basie and the orchestra that bears his name. Highlights will include a performance of “Dark Morning,” Wilson’s tribute written the morning of Count Basie’s death, performed jointly by the Michigan Youth Orchestra and the Count Basie Orchestra, and a new poem by Nandi Comer. With The U-M Jazz Ensemble, The Michigan Youth Jazz Orchestra, and members of the University Symphony Orchestra Directed by Dennis Wilson Featuring U-M Jazz Faculty Ed Sarath, trumpet Ellen Rowe, piano Dennis Wilson, trombone Robert Hurst, bass Andrew Bishop, tenor sax Andy Milne, piano Daniel Pinilla, guitar And special guests Carla Cook, guest vocalist Nandi Comer, Former Michigan Poet Laureate (‘01 BA English and Spanish) Mark Stryker, Master of Ceremonies *The Count Basie mark appears under license from Rutgers University Institute of Jazz Studies.*