On Friday night in Roussel Hall, jazz enthusiasts from Loyola and beyond saw an inspired performance by The Loyola Jazz Faculty Septet, featuring artists-in-residence Nicholas Payton and Wycliffe Gordon.

Director of jazz studies John Mahoney coordinated the event, part of the annual Loyola Jazz Festival, as an opportunity for high school students in town from across the nation to see teachers and clinicians at the festival perform.

Karl Weis, political science junior, commented on the performance, “I loved it, every bit of it.”

The show kicked off with a rousing rendition of Irving Berlin’s “The Best Thing for You is Me,” which introduced the audience to the stellar trio of Johnny Vidacovich, instructor of music, on drums; Matt Lemmler, part-time music instructor, on piano; and Jesse Boyd, music instructor, on bass.

The rhythm section, anchored by Vidacovich, brought the dynamics and texture to wild extremes while staying within the form of the tunes.

The trio played a range of styles, from swing to hip-hop to Caribbean rhythms.

After the intro, out came the horn section, featuring Payton on trumpet.

This performance was decidedly more traditional than Payton’s recent work, “Sonic Trance,” a Grammy-nominated record in the contemporary jazz category.

At only thirty years of age, Payton is highly regarded as one of the best jazz trumpeters in the world.

Completing the band was Tony Dagradi, associate professor of music, on saxophone; John Eubanks, instructor of music, on guitar; and Mahoney on trombone.

Dagradi, the leader of the legendary jazz group Astral Project, is a full-time teacher here at Loyola and a widely recognized virtuoso sax player.

“You and the Night and the Music” (Dietz and Schwartz) followed, featuring an especially inspired solo by Lemmler, a new addition to the faculty this year, on the keys.

Lemmler was instrumental in the choice of music for this concert, supplying the charts for several of the tunes.

Payton spent much of his professional career (which began at age nine) playing traditional jazz. He recently has explored more experimental ventures, so he was very much at home in the traditional setting.

“Maiden Voyage,” another Herbie classic, brought out guest bassist and Jazz Fest adjudicator Tim Aucoin, who replaced Boyd, who had another engagement that evening.

Aucoin, a New Orleans native, is now a highly regarded jazz educator in Atlanta.

After a little encouragement from the receptive crowd, Jazz Fest guest artist Wycliffe Gordon joined the septet on the bandstand for the remainder of the set. Gordon is “a very soulful player who can also play anything that he wants to, a rare combination,” Mahoney said.

A crowd pleaser toward the end of the set was the Island-flavored “Fungii Mama” by Blue Mitchell. Following the standard Rhythm Changes form, this tune featured especially the drum and bass interplay between Vidacovich and Aucoin, as well as a excellent solo by adjunct guitar Eubanks.

The crowd demanded more, so Mahoney and company pulled out an “off the cuff” version of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Blue ‘n Boogie” and came up with a great performance featuring Gordon on the intro and the cadenza. This group had only one short rehearsal before the gig that day.

It was the first time the band had played together and the first time some of the players had even looked at the music.

Studying with such highly regarded and talented musicians can be at the same time a privilege and a challenge for the students here at Loyola, according to Mahoney.

“It’s a little tricky with jazz guys, everyone’s going on tour and stuff like that it’s a balancing act, but I think it’s really worth it for the students,” Mahoney said. “We want Loyola students more involved in the future … come check it out!”

Jazz Faculty Septet and artists-in-residence took the stage Friday to perform as part of the annual Loyola Jazz Festival.