By James El-Mallakh
It was part celebration and part improvisation, as the University of Louisville celebrated that swinging music style – jazz. Students and faculty, along with musicians from a collage of international backgrounds, found a receptive audience at the U of L School of Music’s 2011 Jazz Week.
“I thought it was really awesome,” said Chelsea Getty, a junior music major. “It was amazing. The whole thing was pretty awesome.”
Jazz Week lasted from Feb. 23 to Feb. 26, with each night having a different theme.
International Night, which hosted musicians and music from around the world, was held on Feb. 23.
The audience was receptive to the musicians’ performances, applauding when the players took turns performing solos and going into improvisational jams.
“I feel like everybody played really well,” said John Kleemeier, a junior jazz studies major and one of the drummers who performed on International Night. “Everybody sounded really good. Hopefully [the audience] heard we were grooving and having a good time.”
Adjudicators Night, which followed International Night, was met with an equally positive response.
“I thought they were fabulous, oh my goodness,” said Sarah Barker, a junior music education major. “They’re fabulous anyway. All of our students are great.”
Other performances during the course of Jazz Week included Antonio Hart, who performed to a sellout crowd on Feb. 25, and the Jeff Hamilton Trio, who performed on Feb. 26.
“[The audience] really loved it,” said Trevor DeJarnett, a junior music education major. “They had a lot of jazz people there that really love jazz. Antonio Hart just has a heart for the music. And the whole way he plays is just everything that jazz is about. He tried to get the audience connected and just have them clap with him.”
Some students felt that this year’s Jazz Week was even better than the Jazz Weeks of previous years.
“I think this is the most popular one,” said Lexie Langella, a junior music performance major. “Antonio really brought a lot of people in. I’m sure it’s going to be great next year too. I think it will be a sold out show next year too.”
Mike Tracy, the director of jazz studies at U of L, said that Jazz Week is always one of his favorite times of the year.
“It’s always a busy and exciting time,” said Tracy. “It seems that every year it’s always fun putting together different combinations of music and making it more interesting for the students and the audience. It’s been a good time so we’re looking forward to doing it again.”
As for comments about how Jazz Week could be improved for next year, Getty had one idea.
“I wish we had a classical week,” said Getty.
