MU jazz bands reinvent swing

The bands performed at the Missouri Theater Center for the Arts.

By Rachel Krause

Published Oct. 27, 2009

Audience members at the MU Concert and Studio Jazz Bands' concert Friday night at Missouri Theatre could have easily envisioned themselves in a crowded 1950s dance hall listening to the vivacious tunes. But the MU jazz ensembles are not your grandparents' jazz groups.

"It may be cold and it may be raining, but it's going to be hot in here tonight," Studio Jazz Band Director Loyd Warden said.

Concert Jazz Band guitarist Alex Ispa-Cowan said the general public has a misconception of jazz being for the elderly.

"And I think that's sad because jazz is awesome, for all ages," Ispa-Cowan said.

In order to change those misconceptions, baritone saxophone player Sarah Carney said the new directors, school of music director Robert Shay and jazz performance studies director Arthur White, have been working to raise awareness about the jazz ensembles.

"They started booking this place for the different concerts instead of at Jesse, so that's kind of neat having a different venue to play in," Carney said.

Shay expressed enthusiasm for Columbia's music scene during Friday's concert.

"One of the things that pleased me is how fluent the community is in jazz," Shay said.

White, who taught at Northeastern State University before arriving at MU, is pleased with how the semester has gone.

"It is such a pleasure to teach here and work with students that I consider to be some of most talented student musicians in the region," White said.

Loyd Warden, who directs the Studio Jazz Band under his teaching assistantship with the jazz department, has noticed an increased interest in jazz.

"The students this semester are very hard working and dedicated to their art," Warden said. "They perform at a high level and continue to inspire me to challenge them with more elaborate musical arrangements."

White said he has great hopes for the future of the jazz program.

"We want to add a graduate degree in jazz studies, provide more offerings in the undergraduate curriculum and utilize the great jazz resources in Columbia to strengthen the program," White said. "We're going to record our first-ever CD in the spring and this will certainly help heighten our profile, as well as give a unique professional opportunity to the students."

White hopes to implement an annual recording project with the Concert Jazz Band where they will record original student and faculty compositions, as well as new arrangements of existing pieces. Warden said he would also like to see the Studio Jazz Band, which is made up of music and non-music majors, record a CD and tour surrounding schools to promote jazz at MU.

Carney, who played with the Studio Jazz Band for two years before joining the Concert Jazz Band, said the best part of being involved in the Concert Jazz Band is getting to interact with a group of skilled performers.

"You're more encouraged in the jazz ensemble than the other concert bands to play with what comes into your head, like in improvs and solos," Carney said. "You get more self expression."

With a group of talented performers on hand, White said he has confidence in the future of the program.

"MU jazz studies has great potential, and can be one of the premiere jazz programs in the country, and I think people will take notice of this very soon," he said. "With the quality of students in the program, and the quality of future students to be recruited, the sky's the limit."