Jazz it up at improv night with Caine Combo
Bravery, improvisation ability and knowing how to play popular favorites come standard when jazz artists get together to play at Citrus and Sage every last Wednesday of the month. From 7-9 p.m., these sessions rock the house and give performers and jazz fans alike a place to kick back and relax.
Greg Wheeler, current director of jazz studies, runs the Wednesday night jazz ensembles.
“This is exciting, (and) it’s something for me to have fun with,” Wheeler said. “It’s a great experience for the kids and provides some experience of playing a small combo in a live setting.”
However, Wheeler said students who are planning on joining in should have a talent for improvisation. He said they also need to know a few of the jazz classics such as “Fly Me to the Moon.”
“They play the melody through and then improvise until the cows come home,” Wheeler said.
Jon Gudmundson, former director of jazz studies, organized these jazz ensembles in 2005. He said he has been running them up until this year but is now taking sabbatical for a year. Wheeler has taken over and said he enjoys it.
The first hour of the night a guest performer is invited to come in and play some tunes while USU’s own Caine Combo plays as backup. Each guest is from Cache Valley, and Wheeler said the guests are often fairly notable, such as jazz sax player Joe McQueen who was featured during the last school year. Wheeler said he is expecting to bring in some top-notch performers next year including sax player Todd Goranson and trombonist Harry Watters.
After the guest artist has finished, anyone with an instrument and knack for jazz improvisation is encouraged to get up and show their stuff, Wheeler said.
“It’s kind of like an open mic for our jazz students, for the second hour,” Wheeler said.
With the Caine Combo acting as the rhythm section, students are invited to bring friends or come alone. The guest artist stays for the entire two hours to help students with their “licks” and drop a few friendly pointers.
Genevieve Borrego, proprietress of local coffee shop Citrus and Sage, hosts the monthly sessions. She said she loves music and art and enjoys listening to the students perform each month.
“I like supporting people’s passion,” Borrego said. “It brings out the locals that just want something to relax and listen to.”
Wheeler encourages Jazz students to practice playing in front of an audience to help improve their technique and get a feel for the live setting.
“That’s crucial for your training as you’re playing clubs and gigs,” Wheeler said.
Gudmundson agreed and said the real way for students to learn and become better is to perform in front of people.
“When you play in front of people it forces you to do it right,” Gudmundson said. “It makes it real.”
Gudmundson and Wheeler originally played every Wednesday and invited students to jam the last Wednesday of the month, but Gudmundson said the turnout was not ideal.
“It was okay, but the drummer didn’t show up … (and) it was kind of lame,” Gudmundson said.
That is when the idea for the Caine Combo came about, he said. The Caine Combo was formed after Gudmundson wrote a grant to the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation.
“These guys are amazing supporters of the arts,” he added.
He said one of the ways the foundation showed support was by approving scholarships to the Caine Combo. One of the combo’s requirements is playing backup for the jam sessions.
With a reliable rhythm section, he said, all that was left was to get more students involved in the ensembles.
“We always let it be known that students could sit in, but only the brave ones would play,” Gudmundson said.
In addition to inviting the college students to participate, Gudmundson said he would go out to the local high schools to see if there were any jazz students who were interested in joining in.
Gudmundson said each studio instructor teaches students certain standard jazz solos. Gudmundson teaches a saxophone studio. He said at the end of each month students are encouraged to perform in front of the audience at Citrus and Sage.
“There’s some pressure, because there is an actual audience,” Gudmundson said.
Although music majors are encouraged to participate, Wheeler said not all performers are in the music program.
“It’s mostly for our music majors, but if they come over and they’ve got some good chops going on, we’d like them to come in,” Wheeler said. “There are tons of kids who play in these things that aren’t music majors — they are just players.”
Wheeler said he hopes the jazz nights will become a longstanding tradition, and believes there is a good chance they just might be.
“(Jazz) is something that is very much a part of our American culture,” Wheeler said.
– audrey.moulton@aggiemail.usu.edu