02/10/2026
By Charles Gabriel

On Thursday, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m., the UMass Lowell Music Department will host a FAHSS Dean’s Speakers Series event featuring jazz vocalist Chris Humphrey and his band performing songs from his albums The Voice of Clark Terry vols. 1 and 2, and discussing Terry, his music and the making of the recordings. The event will take place in Fisher Recital Hall, located in the Moloney Performing Arts Center.

In addition to leading his own bands, trumpeter Clark Terry (1920-2015) performed with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, and the Tonight Show Band, where he was the first African American musician to be a regular in a band on a major U.S. television network. In his 60+ year career, he toured internationally, recorded over 50 albums as a bandleader, and had the most recording credits in the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. He was an NEA Jazz Master, a member of the Down Beat Hall of Fame, and recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as numerous honorary doctorates.

The program will feature works by Clark Terry with lyrics set by the late Les Harris Jr. Also performing are trumpeter Jeff Stout (Buddy Rich) guitarist Gray Sargent (Tony Bennett) pianist Mark Shilansky (Luciana Souza) bassist Marty Ballou (Peter Wolf) and drummer Steve Langone (Shawnn Montiero).

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Charles_Gabriel@uml.edu