THE Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, in collaboration with the United States (U.S.) Embassy, yesterday welcomed the Phil Dunlap Trio jazz band to Georgetown. The trio will be performing in Guyana during the week of September 8-14, 2013.

Their visit was made possible by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs, and is part of the Jazz Ambassador Programme, which was established in 1961 to encourage cultural exchanges between Americans and citizens in other countries.
The trio will be performing in a series of jazz concerts and will be involved in educational workshops during the week. These include a jam session with some of Guyana’s top jazz players; an educational presentation and performance at the St. John Bosco Boys Orphanage; in-depth workshops with students and staff from the National School of Music and educational presentations and performances at the Bishops’ High School and Berbice High School.
They will conclude the week of activities with a free concert at the Theatre Guild on September 13 at 19:00 hrs.
The band consists of Phil Dunlap, (keyboard) Nicholas Jost, (bass guitar) and Marty Morrison (drums). Dunlap currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri and frequently performs with the St Louis Symphony Orchestra and is an adjunct Professor of Music at the University of Missouri. Jost has played with the likes of Reggie Thomas, Eric Slaughter and Sean Jones. As an educator, he has served as a faculty member in campuses throughout the U.S., and also in Kathmandu, Nepal. Morrison has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Roberts and among many others, Phil Woods. He is currently a Professor of Jazz Studies at the Missouri State University.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony highlighted that there has been a partnership between the group and the ministry for several years and the country even benefitted from a jazz performance by the group at last year’s Independence celebrations.
He expressed happiness with the partnership and hopes that the Guyanese population supports the events.