Big band jazz will kickoff the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State’s 2025-26 season this month.
The Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band will make its Penn State debut at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 10 at Eisenhower Auditorium, with a show that revives the traditional jazz ensemble format through “high-octane” performance.
Tickets are $52 for adults, $14 for a University Park students and $19 for a those 18 and younger and are available for purchase online. Tickets are also available by calling 814-863-0255 or in person, weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Eisenhower Auditorium. There is no $4 online service fee for tickets purchased in person.
Three-time Grammy Award-winning drummer Owens brings with him an ensemble of emerging jazz artists known for dynamic performances featuring lush arrangements and sparkling improvisation. The band performs both original compositions and fresh arrangements of songs by Terence Blanchard, John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye and Nirvana.
Their Eisenhower Auditorium show will feature a varied setlist, including swing, funk, groove, rock and some Latin works, as well as songs from the album “Soul Conversations,” which was recorded at at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club.
“No shade, everyone in this band is under the age of 40,” Owens said in a Center for the Performing Arts press release. “It’s ‘high-octane’ because it’s never a dull moment. They play in a way where they are inviting you into this moment we are having, and we are having fun.”
A drummer from age 3 who went on to attend The Juilliard School, Owens is an advocate for the arts in education and the co-founder of Don’t Miss a Beat, a charity that blends the performing and visual arts with education to inspire young people.
He has has performed on Grammy Award-winning albums by Kurt Elling and The Christian McBride Big Band, and in 2023 won his third Grammy for his work on an album featuring Steven Feiftke, Bijon Watson and the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra.
Owens’ eighth and most recent release, “A New Beat,” released in 2024, features his Generation Y Band and inspired their viral cover of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box.”
