Student musicians jam with famous local jazz players
Local jazz celebrities and USU music students combined their talents for the Last Wednesday Jam held by the International Association for Jazz Education on Wednesday.
The appropriately named jazz jam sessions are held the last Wednesday of every month at the Citrus and Sage Espresso. These sessions allow students to mingle and play with successful local jazz musicians.
Bill Hepworth, USU guitar major and vice president of the IAJE chapter on campus, said the Last Wednesday Jam was put together by USU professor Jon Gudmunson when the school’s IAJE section was started.
Brent Jensen, jazz history professor at the College of Southern Idaho, was Wednesday’s guest performer. The musicians played a variety of jazz songs Wednesday ranging from Art Blakey’s “Moanin'” to Thelonious Monk’s “Rhythm-A-Ning.”
Jensen said even though he and Wednesday night’s musicians had never played together before, they were able to perform with few mistakes because they each knew the language of jazz. Jazz musicians, he said, learn the names of popular jazz tunes and how to play the songs. This enables musicians who have never practiced together to decide which songs to play and perform them seamlessly, he said.
“I played in Mexico with people I couldn’t even speak with,” Jensen said. “They knew the song titles and tunes. That’s one good thing about jazz. It’s universal. You can go anywhere in the world and find a jam session.”
Hepworth said the Last Wednesday Jams usually draw larger audiences than other jazz sessions.
“A lot of the same people come, especially the musicians,” Hepworth said. “Every time, though, we see some different faces. Some musicians come with the guest artist.”
Zac Beus, freshman majoring in music, played keyboard for some songs during Wednesday’s jam session.
“The jam sessions are great because anyone can join in,” Beus said. “It doesn’t matter what level you’re playing at. There’s even a high school kid that comes and plays.”
Tyler Whittaker, junior in music education and member of IAJE, was another student who joined in the session. He said he comes to the public jazz jam sessions because he enjoys playing his saxophone and likes the experience he gains from performing.
“Any chance I get to play jazz, I’ll come,” Whittaker said. “The Last Wednesday Jams are fun because we get a semi-local celebrity, a real professional, to play with us. They’ve experienced it all in real life. You see parts of a musician’s lifestyle and you learn a lot from doing these jams.”
Whittaker said he likes the freedom jazz music gives musicians.
“I just really like to play,” he said. “I like jazz because I get to be creative and create my own melodies.”
Wednesday’s guest musician Jensen said he likes jazz because it’s universally known and unpredictable. He said he has been playing the saxophone for about 30 years.
“My brother was a really good classical piano player,” he said. “I thought, ‘I can’t let my little brother be better than me.’ My motivation was purely competitive to start with. It was sibling rivalry.”
Citrus and Sage Espresso, located at 130 N. 100 East, hosts the Last Wednesday Jam as well as live jazz music from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. every other Thursday and every Saturday. The jam sessions are free and open to the public. Students are encouraged to bring their own instruments and join in.
-rac.ch@aggiemail.usu.edu