For fans of hard-bop jams, drum solos and the historic jazz essence

High-octane big band jazz returns to Happy Valley with the Penn State debut of the Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band. The three-time Grammy Award-winning drummer and his ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. September 10, in Eisenhower Auditorium.

The ensemble is known for its dynamic, energetic and improvisational sets, and for its fresh arrangements of songs by Terence Blanchard, John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye and Nirvana.

Owens started on drums at age 3 and later went to The Juilliard School on a full scholarship. Today he advocates for a role in education for the arts. He also is the co-founder and artistic director of Don’t Miss a Beat, a charity whose mission is blend the performing and visual arts with education and achievement to inspire young people.

“We need new generations of listeners, but also people who have not listened to this art form before,” Owens said in a 2022 interview with DownBeat. “One of the things I love about this is that I found people buying this big band record who had never bought a jazz record before, let alone a big band record.”