COLUMBUS -- Internationally renowned jazz musicians Jon Jang and David Murray will perform in an 8 p.m. concert Feb. 7 at Mershon Auditorium at The Ohio State University. Jang, a Chinese American pianist, and Murray, an African American saxophonist, bring diverse backgrounds to a collaboration that extends the cultural boundaries of this distinctively American musical form.

The concert, which is free and open to all, will showcase music that expands the cross-cultural reach of jazz and re-imagines its possibilities.

According to Steven Yao, assistant professor of English and an organizer of the concert, this event complements the diversity initiatives under way at Ohio State.

“Both of these artists embody the kind of productive approach to social and cultural diversity that we have sought to create in new programs in the Asian American Studies Program and Comparative Ethnic Studies,” he said. “It is said that jazz is America’s classical music. By bringing these musicians to campus we hope to explore the boundaries of the very idea of “America” and participate directly in the ongoing debate over its definition. Together, Mr. Jang and Mr. Murray vividly attest to the diversity energizing our nation.”

As a leader of the Pan-Asian Arkestra and an award-winning composer, Jang has led the way in the burgeoning Asian American jazz scene. His work joins elements of various Asian musical traditions with the cultural and political sensibilities of jazz.

Murray, a founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet, has a trans-historical vision of jazz that combines the legacies of gospel, New Orleans, Ellington bebop, free jazz and more. He has collaborated with Jang on several projects and also with several leading African musicians.

Together, they have produced the CD Two Flowers on a Stem, which received a five-star review in Downbeat magazine. Reviewers have praised their collaboration with such phrases as “distinctive and memorable” and “connected and mutually enhancing.” Philip Elwood of the San Francisco Examiner called Jang “a brilliant, creative musician” and Murray “simply the finest saxophonist alive.” The Wire of London said, “The mix of David Murray’s gospel roots with Jang’s Chinese timbres was seamless.”

No tickets are required for the concert. Doors will open at 7 p.m.

The concert is sponsored by several Ohio State units: The Office of Academic Affairs, the Division of Student Affairs, the Office of Minority Affairs, the Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities, and the Division of Comparative Studies, in association with the Wexner Center for the Arts.

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