ISU to host 31st annual Jazz Fest featuring Oakland funk band Howard Wiley & Extra Nappy Feb. 9 and 10

The first event will be held on Feb. 9 from 9 to 11 p.m. at the Portneuf Valley Brewery. There is a $10 cover charge and proceeds benefit the ISU music department.

On Feb. 10 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., ISU will host 12 local high school bands, free and open to the public. Then at 7:30 p.m., the ISU Big Band and Howard Wiley & Extra Nappy will perform. Tickets are available at the ISU Box Office.

Tenor-saxophonist Howard Wiley has been a major force on the Bay Area music scene since his teenage years in the mid-90s. A protégé of the dynamic Miss Faye Carol, he’s steeped in a vast array of African-American idioms, from gospel, blues and jazz to R&B, funk and hip-hop. Wiley’s quartet plays next-level grooves with such a deep pocket it’s not just nappy, it’s Extra Nappy.            

Extra Nappy’s band members have earned their stripes playing alongside some of contemporary music’s finest voices, among them include, Lauryn Hill, Sheila E, Christian McBride, Alicia Keys, Steely Dan, Boyz II Men, Nas, the Mars Volta and Thundercat.

For more information, contact Jon Armstrong at armsjona@isu.edu or (208) 282-3143.