Peruvian jazz artist Gabriel Alegria will lead a workshop and present a concert featuring his Afro-Peruvian Jazz Band Monday, Jan. 23, at the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts.

The events, which are free and open to the public, are sponsored by the WVU Division of Music and the Peruvian Embassy.

The workshop on Peruvian jazz will begin at 1 p.m. in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall (Room 200A). The concert will begin at 8:15 p.m. in the Gladys G. Davis Theatre.

Alegria was born in Lima , Peru , in 1970 into a creative family. His grandfather, Ciro, was Peru’s most famous novelist, and his father, Alonso, is Peru’s most acclaimed playwright. Today, Gabriel is one of the most influential figures of the jazz music scene in Peru .

He combines his personal approach to the trumpet with a passionate interest in the music of black coastal Peru . In 2000, he founded La Asociacion Internacional Jazz Peru, Peru’s premier jazz arts and education organization.

The popularity of Afro-Peruvian music is much like that of Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music when they first came to the United States . Many people believe that the Afro-Peruvian sound is the latest and most refreshing sound to come to the jazz world.

For more information, contact the WVU College of Creative Arts at 304-293-4841 ext. 3108.