I was reading through the reviews of the incredible musical events that went on this past weekend on campus, but a series of events missed out on some well-deserved praise. This weekend there were tons of free jazz performances and seminars around the campus, including the artistry of Artie Shepp and our own Evolution of Jazz professor and local piano instructor, Arthur Goldstein.

But the highlight for me was the performance Saturday evening by Winton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. They played an amazing array of music by John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Charlie Mingus, and others. There was never a dull moment as they jammed from song to song, cascading with solos and even soft harmonized singing. The band was lively and funny as Marsalis joked with the crowd and his band members. He also wowed the crowd with some high-speed playing, accompanied by Herlin Riley's amazing drums, that brought the audience to their feet. Each band member shared the spotlight that night by displaying incredible musical talent on a number of different instruments. The audience rose two more times during the show, drawing the band back out for an encore that was just as powerful as the rest of the performance.

This jazz weekend should have been reported on the front page right next to the other musical powerhouses.

It's a shame that the genre often gets sidelined, despite the number of jazz lovers out there. All of the performers and speakers from this weekend deserve one more round of applause.