Jazz trumpet player Art Davis performs April 5 in North Central College’s Madden Theatre

Trumpeter and North Central College jazz faculty member Art Davis performs April 5 in the College’s Madden Theatre.

“An Evening with Jazz Trumpeter Art Davis” begins at 8 p.m. Friday, April 5, in the College’s Madden Theatre at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave. Tickets are $20/adults and $15/students and seniors.

Davis will be joined onstage by fellow members of North Central College’s jazz faculty, including saxophonist Mitch Paliga, bassist Jim Cox, pianist Chris White and drummer Jack Mouse.

One of Chicago’s leading jazz trumpet artists, Davis has been a busy performer and teacher since the early 1980s. As a performer, he has toured with Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and Rosemary Clooney, among others. As a charter member of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, he has appeared with Joe Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Nancy Wilson, Kurt Elling and Jimmy Heath, among others.

Davis has also performed and recorded with such notables as Maynard Ferguson, the Woody Herman Orchestra, Natalie Cole, Diane Schuur, Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett and Frank Mantooth. As a member of the Janice Borla Group, Davis is featured on Borla’s CDs, including her current release “From Every Angle.” He is also featured on Jack Mouse’s upcoming CD “Range of Motion,” to be released on the Origin record label.

Davis has degrees in music education and musicology from the University of Illinois. As a graduate student, he specialized in ethnomusicology with an emphasis in African music. For more than 20 years, he has been mentored by such master drummers as Gideon Foli Alorwoyle and Abubakari Luna. A highly respected jazz educator, Davis has served on the faculties of the Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts, Northern Illinois University, Benedictine University and North Central College.

Navistar is underwriting sponsor of North Central College’s 2012-2013 Fine and Performing Arts Season. The season is partially supported by USG Corporation and a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and National Endowment of the Arts.