Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival: A Global Event

by Elise Goitia '18

The Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival is truly a global event, with world-renowned headlining musicians and, this year, an alumna traveling more than 6,000 miles to play with classmates during the 37th annual celebration.

Yumi Kusunoki '10 played at Rootabaga as a student and journeyed back to Galesburg from Osaka, Japan, to play her trombone with the Knox Alumni Big Band.

"They're my family here," said Kusunoki. "You always have a home where you're from, but here, it's different. This is my home."

The four-day festival featured performances by the Victor Garcia Organ Quintet, Gretchen Parlato Quartet, the Knox Alumni Big Band, Faculty and Friends Combo, and the award-winning Knox Jazz Ensemble. There were performances at Galesburg-area schools, Fat Fish Pub, The Orpheum Theatre, and the Galesburg Public Library for an event with young children.

Rootabaga brings together professional jazz artists, alumni, local musicians, Knox faculty, and current students.

"The opportunity to work with guest artists is so important in the growth and development of our ensemble," said Jessi Miller '18, who plays with the Knox Jazz Ensemble. The ensemble opened for Grammy nominee Gretchen Parlato at the Orpheum Theatre. "To have professionals that have traveled all over the world help us identify our strengths and weaknesses is very inspiring. Getting to perform alongside them is a life-changing experience for everyone involved."

Jenn Erl '19, who is a current member of the ensemble, said that Rootabaga "brings everyone in the community together."

"People just gather for the love of music," she said. "It doesn't matter if alums live in different countries. They still come back for Rootabaga because of how unifying the experience is."

Stephen Moore '05, who's played at Rootabaga for 16 years, says that by being in the Big Band he feels as if he's carrying on the tradition of contributing to a community effort.

"As students, we got to share the stage with world-renowned jazz artists," he said. "It's an experience you don't get in a lot of places, let alone small colleges. You pay it forward. It's nice to be able to do what previous alumni did for us, playing and passing on the torch."

Rootabaga is part of the Knox Jazz Year, which includes two other annual events that culminate with free public concerts. The Jerome Mirza Jazz Residency brings world-renowned jazz artists to campus for a week of intensive and collaborative jazz activities with students. The Knox Winter Jazz series showcases global artists with diverse cultural perspectives for one-on-one experiential programming with Knox students and the Galesburg community.