Amid the arid jazz wasteland that is Tampa Bay up pops an oasis, and it's a beautiful thing. The first annual Jazz Composers Symposium, presented by the USF Center For Jazz Composition, will include all sorts of activities: workshops, panels, judgings and such on the USF Tampa campus. But the important news, dear starving jazzbos, is that the to-do includes three evening concerts, highlighted by trumpeter Dave Douglas (Fri., March 10), one of the absolute titans on the international scene. He leads an array of varied ensembles, but will appear with pianist David Berkman, offering a more intimate perspective on his artistry. The night before (Thurs., Jan. 9) features acoustic bassist John Clayton performing with USF Jazz Ensemble 1. The event's final show, on Sat., March 11, is composer/arranger/trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, who will perform with Jazz Surge, a band led by Center for Jazz Composition head Chuck Owen.
This article appears in Mar 8-14, 2006.