Tim Reis

Dan Gailey thinks Rolling Stones fans get some satisfaction from jazz versions of the rock classics.

“Some of it’s really surprising — it’s amazing how it turned out,” says Gailey, who directs the jazz studies program at Kansas University.

He’s talking about the “Rolling Stones Project,” which is turning the band’s songs into jazz. The man behind the project is Tim Ries, the Rolling Stones’ saxophonist.

Ries will be one of the featured guests this weekend at the 32nd annual KU Jazz Festival.

The festival will draw around 1,000 high school students to the KU campus for master classes and performances during the day.

A pair of concerts are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Free State High School, 4700 Overland Drive. The lineup:

• Friday — John Fedchock, a Grammy-nominated composer, arranger and big band leader from New York who was a longtime trombone player with the Woody Herman Orchestra; the KU Jazz Festival All-Star Big Band, directed by Gene Aitken, who directed jazz studies at the University of Northern Colorado for 25 years; and Lawrence High School Jazz Ensemble I.

• Saturday — The “Rolling Stones Project,” featuring Ries, pianist Matt Harris (a former member of the Buddy Rich and Maynard Ferguson bands) and the KU Jazz Ensemble I; and the Free State High School Jazz Ensemble I.

Gailey says he’s looking forward to the weekend.

“The first reason I do it is for the students here, and bringing in international guest stars,” he says. “And then it’s definitely recruiting and outreach — getting 1,000 high school jazz students on campus, you can’t beat that.”