A recent concert of Tito Puente and the NIU Jazz Ensemble will be profiled between 4:30 and 5 p.m. on Tuesday on WLS-TV, Channel 7 news.

Channel 7 reporter Harry Porterfield met with Puente and his long-time friend Ron Modell, founder and director of the NIU Jazz Ensemble, Sept. 30 at Elgin High School. Puente and the Ensemble were there as part of a special two-day tour to Elgin and Aurora East High School to present concerts and music clinics.

Modell met Puente 34 years ago at the Palladium in New York, where Modell played trumpet for the “Machito Orchestra.” Puente had played with the orchestra before, but at the time, he was leading his own band.

“It’s been a dream of mine for 24 years to bring him here and (to have him) perform with my jazz ensemble,” Modell said.

That dream was realized when Puente came to NIU to help set up the Tito Puente Scholarship Fund. Portions of the proceeds from the concerts and clinics benefited the fund, in addition to NIU University Resources for Latinos.

Modell said the scholarship fund was set up to assist Latino students who are accepted to NIU, but are financially unable to attend.

Strong financial support from Northern Illinois Gas will help to build up a sizeable amount of scholarship money for future students, he said. NI Gas has enthusiastically committed three years of support to the fund.

“A project of this magnitude needs many people to make it a success. Harold Kafer, chairman of the NIU School of Music, my colleague Antonio Garcia, George Gutierrez, director of University Resources for Latinos, and the community of people in Aurora and Elgin deserve much credit for their amount of time and effort (put into this project),” Modell said.

Modell said he thinks “the mere fact that Tito Puente would take time out of his busy schedule (to come and play with the NIU Jazz Ensemble) shows not only his great respect for NIU and the Jazz Ensemble, but also his great love for trying to support higher education.”

The tour was made not only to entertain those who attended, but also to “(reach) out to the large Hispanic communities in those areas,” Modell said.

“I think he was the most positive role model we could’ve brought to these Latino students,” he said.

he credits Puente’s success as an ideal role model because of his alcohol- and drug-free lifestyle.

“Music is his high. (All) he needs to get high is to play (his music).”