DeKALB — The nationally-renowned Northern Illinois University Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of professor Ron Carter, will present a free concert with special guest artist, drummer Dennis Mackrel, at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15 in the Duke Ellington Ballroom in the Holmes Student Center on the campus of NIU. Saxophonist Geof Bradfield, new to the School of Music faculty, will join the band.

Since June 1998, the jazz studies program at NIU has been rated one of the top 10 graduate jazz programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report. The program won significant recognition from Downbeat Magazine’s Student Recognition Awards, capturing more than 10 Outstanding Performance Awards. Jazz bands from NIU have received awards at several major jazz festivals.

Mackrel began playing the drums when he was 2. He graduated from Clark High School
in Las Vegas and attended the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.