Telluride Jazz Fest: Honoring Bob Montgomery & His All-Stars

04 Aug Telluride Jazz Fest: Honoring Bob Montgomery & His All-Stars

Telluride Jazz Festival, August 9-11, 2019, still has tickets on sale. Go here for details. 

This year, 2019, marks Bob Montgomery’s 25th anniversary co-directing (with Josh Quinlan) the Telluride All-Stars Jazz Ensemble. They group will be performing at the Telluride Jazz Festival on Saturday, August 10, noon- 1 p.m. on the Main Stage in Telluride Town Park, then again from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in Elks Park. The Telluride All-Stars 25th Reunion Band plays the Main Stage on Sunday, August 11, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

In his podcast (below) Bob shares his life story and the story of the Telluride Jazz All-Stars Ensemble.

He is a jazz trumpeter, conductor, producer, arranger and composer, also an award-winning teacher, who blows young minds – in a very good way.

He is Bob Montgomery who, in 1995, founded the Telluride All-Stars Jazz Ensemble, the Telluride Jazz Festival’s flagship educational scholarship program, which supports young talent from across the country. According to Telluride Jazz, “the purpose of the program is to inspire and guide young musicians who are poised to pursue their education in jazz and are at the level to begin their professional careers.”

This year, 2019, marks the 25th anniversary of Bob co-directing (now with Josh Quinlan) the student ensemble. They will be performing at the Telluride Jazz Festival on Saturday, August 10, noon- 1 p.m. on the Main Stage in Telluride Town Park, then again from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in Elks Park. On Sunday, the Telluride All-Stars 25th Year Reunion Band performs, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Bob with his All Stars.

The results of five-year study by neuroscientists at the University of Southern California show that music instruction of any stripe appears to accelerate brain development in young people, particularly in the areas of the brain in charge of processing sound, language development, speech perception, and reading skills.

Those findings were substantiated by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation, which added:

“Music education is a path to life-long learning and knowledge of self and culture. It supports healthy social development and the quality of a young person’s life, and it prepares young people for success in the 21st century workplace.”

According to NAMM, music education facilitates student academic achievement:

• Improves recall and retention of verbal information
• Advances math achievement
• Boosts reading and English language arts (ELA) skills
• Increases average SAT scores

In recent years, many Telluride All-Star grads have gone on to enjoy careers in music and return as featured acts on the Main Stage, all while having gained critical life skills.

Over the years Bob Montgomery has received accolades for his musicianship, as well as numerous awards for his educational leadership in a career which now spans more than three decades.

Bob is also an internationally recognized performing artist who has appeared throughout Europe, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, Great Britain, New Zealand, and the United States.

He has performed in back-up orchestras for such artists as Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones, Nancy Wilson, and many more. He toured Europe with Clark Terry’s “Big Bad Band”; served as artist-in-residence in Adelaide, South Australia; appeared as featured soloist with the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra for theInternational Trumpet Guild; and appeared at Town Hall in New YorkCity with Clark Terry for the New York JVC Jazz Festival’s tribute to Clark Terry.

Bob Montgomery’s reputation as an educator has earned him many awards including “Teacher of the Year,” “Jazz Educator and Performer of the Year,” and “Colorado Jazz Educator Of The Year.”

He is, as stated above, founder and director of the the Telluride All-Stars, a robust program that has helped hundreds of young jazz musicians enter the world of jazz as professional performers.

Happy silver anniversary Bob!