Ndugu Chancler: 60 Years of Life and Music

Visions and Voices: The USC Arts and Humanities Initiative, USC Flora L. Thornton School of Music

Sunday, September 23, 2012 : 3:00pm

University Park Campus
Bovard Auditorium

Free. RSVP Required.


The USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra and ALAJE will perform Ndugu Chancler’s compositions, with major Los Angeles-based artists making cameo appearances.

Ndugu Chancler is perhaps best known as the drummer on the Michael Jackson hit “Billie Jean” but his life goes well beyond that. He has been at the intersection of jazz and popular music for his entire career. A faculty member of both the jazz studies and popular music programs at Thornton, Chancler has played with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Santana and Weather Report.

In this afternoon event, Chancler will share his life and music with video history, performances by Thornton School students, and presentations by a select group of musicians who have worked with the famed drummer over the years. The USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra and ALAJE (USC Thornton’s Afro Latin American Jazz Ensemble) will perform compositions by Chancler joined by a litany of major Los Angeles based artists in cameo roles. 

Presented by Visions and Voices: The USC Arts and Humanities Initiative.