Durham, NC - With Branford Marsalis in the house, first-year student and jazz ensemble member Cameron Thompkins wasn't going to let the opportunity pass.

The legendary jazz musician, who is a Durham resident, visited Pegram Residence Hall on East Campus Oct. 7 for a nighttime jam and chat session. He performed some tunes, took questions from the audience of more than 50 students and even hung around for a game of billards in the Pegram commons.

Thompkins brought his saxophone along in hopes of getting to play with Marsalis.

"I had just gotten out of jazz band rehearsal, and I figured I might as well bring it, because for one, I love to play, and I also heard that he sometimes let people jam with him," Thompkins said. Soon enough, he was aside Marsalis and they were blowing their instruments.

"He seemed pretty cool," Thompkins said, "and playing with him was great. He had a lot of energy, and I could feel it too."

Marsalis came at the invitation of Ciompi Quartet violinist and Pegram faculty-in-residence Hsiao-mei Ku. She's given Pegram something of an arts dorm theme with regular arts performances throughout the semester, traditionally kicked off on the first day of classes by a Ciompi Quartet concert.

"It's the third year that Marsalis has come to Pegram," Ku said."He's always enjoyed it and it's been a great experience for students."

The performances traditionally begin at 10 p.m., so students have time to complete their studies and return to the dorm. They're held in the Pegram commons but are open to students of any residence hall.

Ku said Duke does an excellent job of promoting student interaction with faculty and artists, but there's something particularly special about events in residence halls.

"Because it's an informal setting, there's a social hour afterwards," she said. "That's what's great about events in residence halls. I regularly take students to concert to hear the greatest artists in the world. It's a stunning experience for them, but afterwards they go home and it's over. They never get to meet the artists, and the entire experience is somewhat kept at a distance.

"But when the artists come to Pegram, they perform, they talk about their successes and their failures. It makes the artists seem real. They're not just someone who they admire, but someone who was once like them and then found a passion for something they were good at."