Jazz Night turns TSC to nightclub
Julie Benson grew up loving 1930s and ’40s style and music of her parents. Now she’s enjoying a chance to perform music from that era for others who share her passion.
For a few nights at least, USU has its very own Rainbow Room or Copacabana. The third annual Jazz Night will bring Logan its own 1930s style jazz nightclub.
“It’s like stepping back in time,” said Benson, a junior liberal arts major.
On Feb. 16 and 17, and student night, Feb. 15, the Skyroom on the fourth floor of the TSC will become the Sky Club, complete with gourmet food, a dance floor and live music from USU’s jazz orchestra and jazz ensemble.
Jazz Night benefits the Larry Smith Jazz Scholarship and is a combined effort of the USU’s Music Department, the Skyroom, USU Catering and University Inn.
“The best part for me is the ambiance,” said Ann Marie Wallace, a conference coordinator at the University Inn who organized Jazz Night. She said the night’s combination of timeless music with the classy atmosphere of the Sky Bar – which features decorations and costumes to fit the 1930s and ’40s motif – make the evening particularly unique.
“It’s a low-stress event. It’s a lot of fun,” Wallace said.
The evening begins with a gourmet meal accompanied by the smooth guitar and vocals of USU student duo Becky Lafferty Foster and Charlie Malolo. Several different entrées are served along with non-alcoholic specialty drinks such as an Aggie Sparkle or a Shirley Temple. The meal ends with bananas foster, which will be served flaming over ice cream.
After dinner, the dance floor will open and the jazz orchestra and jazz ensemble with six guest vocalists will play Big Band swing songs like “Luck Be a Lady” and “Jump, Jive and Wail.”
Jon Gudmundson, director of the USU jazz orchestra and musical director of Jazz Night, said finding “danceable” songs was their focus. “Jazz was originally for dancing,” he said, adding this event gives the jazz ensemble and orchestra a chance to do something fun and different.
Vocalist Katie Freeman, a freshman choral education major, said she was interested in Jazz Night because she “wanted to get [her] voice to do something different.” She said she enjoyed playing with a band so loud and powerful, and she looks forward to playing for a dance audience.
“People get more out of it because they’re doing something about the music with you,” Freeman said.
Wallace said audiences in the past have enjoyed the dancing, music and food.
Tickets for Jazz Night are $36 and are available at the USU Ticket Office in the Spectrum.
The student night on Thursday will feature the same music without meals or drinks. Wallace said the student night is more casual and less expensive, costing $7 for single tickets or $10 for couples. All events begin at 7 p.m.
-tliljegren@cc.usu.edu