The celebration kicked off at 7:30 p.m. at FAMU’s Lee Hall Auditorium. It featured performances by the university’s Jazz Ensemble, which included Nat Adderley Jr. The concert followed a ribbon-cutting ceremony during which the new institute was unveiled. The evening was entirely open to the public.

“Let’s make this a joyous celebration and fill Lee Hall Auditorium to capacity for an outstanding evening of music,” FAMU President Larry Robinson said, according to The Tallahassee Democrat.

The name of the music institute was approved in December and marks the first time FAMU has named an academic program after specific individuals.

“This is a very fitting thing to do, and it’s long overdue for us to honor Cannonball and Nat Adderley,” FAMU Band Arranger Lindsey Sarjeant told the news outlet.

The Adderley brothers had family ties to FAMU. Their parents taught at the university in the 1940s before the brothers enrolled as students. Cannonball studied band education, while Nat studied sociology with a minor in music. Both were members of the Marching 100 band and played the alto saxophone and the cornet respectively.

The Adderley brothers went on to carve their own space in soul jazz history, with hits such as “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” which was featured on jazz and soul charts in 1967. Other hit songs include “This Here,” “Work Song” and “Walk Tall.”