Local Modes JAZZ FINDS FERTILE GROUND IN CHARLOTTESVILLE by Josh Rychak photo courtesy of U.Va. Jazz Ensemble It seems that in Charlottesville, jazz has come to rival rock as the noteworthy musical medium. Whereas several years ago our musician friends all had electric guitars stashed under their beds, jazz and blues combinations are now coming to replace the previously popular garage bands. This is indicative not only of a natural progression in musical tastes, but also of an inherent richness underlying jazz music, a quality that tends to bring jazz to the forefront in cities like ours. The resurgence of local jazz is not due to the efforts of Charlottesville's scholarly four-year residents alone, but consists of both student and permanent resident bands. Jazz in Charlottesville has a productive history, due both to the influence of the university and factors inherent in the city. What should strike the astute observer about rock and roll music, as opposed to jazz, in the last several years is its grossly cyclic nature. The most alarming aspect pertaining to the creative orbit in rock and roll is the high frequency of stylistic turnover. Far from being supported by an entire generation, lately each new sub-genre has only enough depth of variation to remain fresh and viable with the public for about a year, after which repeated chords and persistent song structures dominate. That is, each new vogue can be taken only so far (lately a strikingly short distance) until the spring of creative possibilities is exhausted. Jazz, too, flows in cycles. However, where rock appears to yield only shallow and short-lived innovations, jazz establishes rich schools of playing, fields which take literally decades to fully explore and conquer. This bounty is due to the character of jazz music. Inherent in jazz is the assumption that within each chord progression is an infinite number of applicable melodies; this makes improvisation an altogether feasible, if not necessary, facet of the music. Each developed sub-genre can alter the specific tempo, phrasing, or level of complexity while retaining all the depth that sustains each movement. If jazz is more receptive to permutations than rock and roll, then why has rock been at the forefront of popular culture while jazz is largely under-appreciated? Furthermore, why does Charlottesville seem be bucking the trend? That jazz has a net conventional popularity subordinate to that of rock can be seen as reflective upon the values of popular culture. It may be said that we revere only what we can readily emulate and that instances of true brilliance are largely ignored. If this were the case, neither jazz nor rock would have followers, as both (indeed all) musical genre are dependent upon Cobains and Armstrongs for creative progress. It may be argued that the disproportionate popularity of jazz here at the university and in Charlottesville is due to the misconception that jazz is facile, requires a nominal amount of skill. Far from this, though, the impromptu refrains that appear to come so easily to a skilled performer are in fact based on a thorough comprehension of jazz theory. Jazz popularity is not at all parallel to that of rock: the desire to be a jazz musician oneself is not a requisite characteristic of a typical jazz fan, neither is a keen ear for the trend-of-the-moment. What is necessary is an open-minded intrigue in music not for the sake of raw entertainment, but for the potential expressive purity. Jazz holds a position of considerable influence at U.Va, increasingly so in recent years. Whereas in other areas of the country rock or classical music and its derivative classes comprises the majority of extracurricular student performing groups, the prevalence of jazz quartets and quintets here rivals that of the anecdotal four-piece rock outfits elsewhere. Student involvement begins with the Jazz Ensemble and the Virginia Swing Orchestra, and continues through numerous splinter groups with an audience range reaching far beyond students. While rock would seem to be the historically preferred outlet for students, it is jazz and its engaging intricacies that seems to have captivated an unexpectedly large portion of both student musicians and listeners. Unlike many of the rural and suburban areas surrounding us, Charlottesville supports a plethora of venues just right for local jazz artists. Although large performing groups such as the U.Va. Jazz Ensemble play in large Cabell Hall-sized auditoriums, many smaller bands favor the more intimate ambiance of a cafe or pub. There are sundry local establishments that patronize jazz. Among others, Michael's Bistro on the Corner hosts a local jazz night each Tuesday, and periodically brings in area jazz staples like the Michael Sheppard Group and the Aaron Binder Quintet. Tokyo Rose presents a variety of blues/jazz acts from Charlottesville and nearby areas. Miller's on the Downtown Mall features Greg Howard on his Chapman Stick every Monday night, as well as indigenous favourites such as the Jeff Decker Quartet and trumpeter John D'earth. Moondance and the Prism Coffee House also schedule jazz performances, among others. The catch-all Jazz Ensemble has spawned several splinter groups, including Baaba Seth and Tilae Linden. Contributing to the permanent scene, many student musicians make Charlottesville their home after graduation. Relative to similar locales, Charlottesville indeed provides a meaty substrate for the propagation of jazz music. Although an upsurge in jazz interest on a national scale may be drawing near, jazz music has long held a particular grasp on Charlottesville. According to John D'earth, Charlottesville has a very different kind of culture, instrumental in sustaining the musical environment. A large portion of student involvement comes under the auspices of Professor Scott DeVeaux's "History of Jazz" course, in which students are required to attend local jazz concerts. The numerous small venues throughout the city provide both informal access to the music for anyone interested as well as forums for local artists. Beyond this, jazz finds Charlottesville conducive because of the cosmopolitan and academic atmospheres; while rock and other popular musical forms may also be widely appreciated here, our area supports an unusually great number of aficionados who have sufficient interest in music as an artform and regard for jazz in particular. Moreover, the mixture of new blood in the form of student musicians adds freshness to Charlottesville's existing jazz culture. The fact that many graduates choose to make Charlottesville their permanent home is both testimony to the city's agreeableness and serves to propagate jazz here. By its innate temperament jazz attracts patrons from the broadest of social spectra, and the fusion of Charlottesville as a city with the university yields the ideal environment.

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