While jazz music in the style of Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong might not be edging out Justin Bieber or Katy Perry for a Top-40 spot, the performances can still draw a crowd in the Athens community.
Performances by the Ohio University School of Music’s ensembles and the various jazz groups that frequent Athens fill the community with the sounds that reflect popular music from the beginning of the 20th century.
There are three ensembles and two jazz combos in the School of Music, in addition to classes in jazz history, improvisation, arranging and teaching methods. The ensembles will be performing at the concert Jazz Ensemble I and II, along with a jazz percussion ensemble Friday.
In addition to School of Music concerts, Matthew James, director of the jazz ensembles at the School of Music, said at any point there is probably a School of Music group performing at the establishments Uptown, including student-faculty groups.
James said he believes there is a strong exposure to jazz music in Athens, in part due to the programs in the School of Music.
“I think the university provides opportunities to hear jazz that there otherwise wouldn’t be,” he added.
In addition to university performances, Athens presented the Athens Jazz Fest in March and there are year-round jazz performances, such as the regular Jazz Night at Tony’s Tavern, which draws in jazz fans to listen to the Word of Mouth Jazz Band every week.
“I like to take a sketchbook and just write while the band plays on,” said Chet Miller, a third-year graduate student studying production design.
Kyle Slemmer, a member of the Word of Mouth Jazz Band who plays alto, baritone and tenor saxophone, performs with his band weekly at Tony’s Jazz Nights and said there’s a routine crowd that gathers for the performance.
“(Jazz is) not really a popular style of music anymore, so the fact it can be surviving anywhere is amazing; normally it’s reserved to big cities, but somehow Athens has a nice little scene going on here,” Slemmer said.
James said some of the appeal of jazz is that it is highly improvisational, which allows for a unique performance, as well as the fact that it has a rich American background; it is the only musical style that originated in the country.
Slemmer said that if people knew more about the jazz scene and style of music, they’d probably enjoy it.
“If people are willing to come and give it a try, I think they’ll have a good time,” he said. “We try to make it fun and have a good time (on stage) and have good energy.”
eb104010@ohiou.edu
