I’ve written about all sorts of wondrous musical phenomena on this blog. I was surprised when I realized I hadn’t yet talked about the world of Penn State jazz. A world I find myself entangled in more and more the longer I am here at PSU. My first encounter with PSU jazz was during the activities fair where I saw the poster reading “PSU Professional Jazz Collective”. When I saw the words “Jazz jam” I was sold on joining. When I first joined the club, I was enlightened by the jazz filling my soul to the brim. Penn state has some amazing musicians.

Though the club meetings of first semester -that consist of playing jazz standards and everyone taking a solo- were initially only held in music building II, starting second semester, they began being held every Friday at Websters Bookstore and Cafe from 5:00 to 7:00. Most every Friday evening the quirky bookstore is turned into a bustling jazz club. Community members as well as students are able to delightfully listen as well as join in.

Outside the jazz club which all are encouraged to join, Penn State has a variety of jazz ensembles filled with all kinds of rich talent. Vocal dimensions, is the premier vocal jazz ensemble at Penn State run by Dr. Kathryn Hylton. Being a part of this group myself, I can recount the wondrous sounds of jazz chords created by a melodious chorus of sweet swinging jazz voices. Inner dimensions is the second big band at PSU co-directed by Jazz director Dr. Joshua Davis and jazz department graduate assistants, Gabriel Herrera (trombone) and Alex Mijangos (Bass). The astounding performance of these two grad students gives me a lot of hope for PSU’s future in jazz. Finally, Centre dimensions is the highly regarded premier big band at Penn State directed by Dr. Josh Davis. The band performs on and off campus and hosts internationally acclaimed musical artist. The seemingly perfect synchronization and improvisation abilities of the members of this band will blow you away. They showcase the high level of passion and knowledge of jazz within Penn State’s music school. The PSU jazz program is also dotted with jazz combos (smaller groups of musicians).

More than a music genre, jazz is an outlet for deep expression and discovery. As you observe musicians playing jazz together you can witness communication between players as they listen and respond. Learning jazz parallels the art of learning a language. Through listening to jazz greats and learning the basics of theory, improvisation masterpieces are created on the spot. Jazz is a language that was created in part so people could express themselves as unique but cultured individuals that are also part of a tightly knit community. I think by spreading jazz music and sharing the many ways people at Penn State can be more involved in jazz -whether its listening or playing- would uplift the community. What better way to enliven our lives than through beautiful and intriguing musical sound?

Click the link to see what PSU jazz has in store!