Kirkwood Community College hosted Jazz Jam in Iowa Hall on Oct. 28 with the college’s jazz band preforming on stage in front of a small crowd in The Café. The band played numerous instrumentals through drums, bass and guitar.
“I think it’s just always fun getting to play with some of the band members in the Kirkwood Jazz Ensemble, and I just love performing in front of people,” said Lead Drummer Oliver Miller, music education. “It’s one of my favorite things to do.”
Once the band started to play, sounds of conversations in the area started to soften as heads began to turn, immersing students and facility with the band’s performance. Miller said there wasn’t a basic setlist of songs that would be played but rather basic jazz charts the band would practice and figure out as they go along with their session.
“There’s just so much you can do with jazz, whether it’s switching the feel of the song or something, or you could just be really, really experimental,” he said.
Miller also pointed out how jazz isn’t like most music. Jazz can flow together without order, and it can be diverse, complex and simple.
He explained how just by primarily practicing basic charts and not having a particular setlist, they could come up with something that sounds good and fresh while not being constrained on how they can perform.
“I actually didn’t want to do jazz,” Miller said. “When I was a little kid, I first started taking drum lessons, then concert band. Then I was like, ‘No, I’m not gonna do jazz band,’ but when I eventually joined, I was like, ‘Wait, this is like my thing.’”
Miller emphasized how freeing it is to play and listen to jazz, how it sparks creativity within jazz bands and how it offers a unique, dynamic listening experience for audiences alike, making it one of the main key reasons why he and his band members play jazz.
The next Jazz Jam session will be Nov 11, at 11:15 a.m. in Iowa Hall. The event is open to all students, faculty and staff.
Categories: Campus News, News
