The Beavercreek Music Parents Association, in conjunction with Beavercreek High School, will host the eighth annual Weekend of Jazz March 6-7 at BHS.

This not-for-profit community cultural event brings Beavercreek schools’ jazz ensembles together with 12 to 15 other area high school jazz bands and two professional headliner bands for a jazz-filled weekend.

This year’s lineup is:

Thursday, March 6 (7 p.m.): Beavercreek Schools (Ankeney Middle School, Ferguson Middle School and BHS). The concert is free.

Friday, March 7 (8 p.m.): Jeff Coffin Mu’tet. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $15 for students.

Saturday, March 8 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.): High School Jazz Band Day (free concert).

Saturday, March 8 (8 p.m.): O’2L. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $15 for students.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 458-3828 or going online to www.weekendofjazz.org.

Two-time Grammy Award Winning saxophonist/composer Jeff Coffin is an internationally-renowned performer and clinician.

On the road with Bela Fleck & the Flecktones since 1997, Coffin has traveled the world playing a wide variety of musical styles.

In addition to the Flecktones, Coffin also leads his own group, The Mu’tet which takes it’s name for the word mutation, giving way to Coffin’s belief that music is constantly changing and mutating.

He has performed with such musicians as The Dave Matthews Band, Branford Marsalis, DJ Logic, New Orleans Social Club, McCoy Tyner, Baaba Maal, Mike Clark’s Prescription Trio, Chris Thile, Garth Brooks, Phish, Van Morrison, J.D. Souther, Vinnie Colaiuta, The Dixie Chicks, Bob Moses, Konger Ol Ondar, Stanton Moore, Brooks and Dunn, George Porter Jr., Umphrey’s McGee, Del McCoury, John Scofield, Yonder Mountain String Band, Marc Broussard, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Wailers. Known for sometimes playing alto and tenor sax simultaneously, with a nod to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Coffin seeks out the extraordinary in his saxophone sound and in his technique of improvisation.

Reaching for the unique is something Coffin makes an integral part of both his playing and teaching.

O’2L is a collaboration between keyboardist Jane Mangini and guitarist Al Pitrelli, director of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Mangini composes and arranges the CD’s. Pitrelli textures the numbers with an array of guitar rhythms, riffs and leads.

The music of O’2L can best be described as an eclectic blend of jazz, world, rock, funk, electronica, new age and chill music, creating a sonic journey without boundaries. O’2L features musicians from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, best known for its renditions of traditional Christmas songs.

The Weekend of Jazz promotes music education for middle school, and junior and senior high school students from all over Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Jazz bands and combos from schools in this region come together in Beavercreek to perform in exhibition.

A panel of professional jazz musicians and music educators critique each concert and the student bands have the opportunity to attend clinics for one-on-one advice and feedback from one of the panel members.

While there is a certain element of informal competition among the student bands, the emphasis is always on music instruction and learning.

The format of the festival is regularly praised by participating band directors. Thursday evening opens the festival with performances by the jazz bands of the Beavercreek City Schools — Ankeney and Ferguson Middle Schools and Beavercreek High School (Jazz Ensembles 1 and 2).

These performances are observed by an on-stage jazz professional, who offers constructive critiques of each performance and encouragement for the young musicians. A unique feature of these concerts is that the on-stage clinician is “mic-ed” which enables to audience to see and hear the feedback to the bands and get a glimpse of what happens during the off-stage feedback sessions.

During the day on Saturday of each Weekend of Jazz festival, a number of school jazz bands perform in exhibition on the stage of Alumni Auditorium.

All middle, junior high, and high school jazz bands are eligible to perform, and no prior performance or competition experience is required to participate in the Weekend of Jazz.

There are no classes or divisions of bands; all bands perform on an open basis. The performances are non-competitive and free form to give each band an opportunity to showcase its talent. Each band will be evaluated and provided feedback from a panel of clinicians. All performing bands receive a plaque to commemorate their participation.

Professional jazz musicians, clinicians, and educators will observe, evaluate, and critique these performances. Immediately following each band’s performance, the band members meet in session with an evaluator who provides them feedback in a 20- to 30-minute private clinic, and actively works with the band members to improve their performances.

Also throughout the day Saturday free master instrument classes are offered to students and other musicians. These classes are presented by professional artists many of whom are also Jazz educators. Two of each class are usually available in order to allow all performing students and opportunity to attend a master session.