Event Aims to Foster Appreciation of Jazz

By JEFF MAISEY

By Jeff Maisey

Correspondent

When Deborah Charity started Jazz Informance eight years ago, she never envisioned the two-day educational event turning into an annual affair.

“I was going to do this one time,” Charity said.

Jazz Informance is part informational workshop, part live performance. Charity’s quest is to expand appreciation and understanding of jazz music, something she sees as a struggling art form in American culture.

“That’s the whole point of this being Jazz Informance,” she said. “Popular music is based on public appeal and it’s easy. Jazz is not that easy. If it’s better understood, I think more people would appreciate it.”

This year’s workshop is scheduled for Friday at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts and will include for the first time a master’s class. Local jazz students, musicians and instructors of all ages and abilities may participate in the clinic, priced at $205 per person (including lunch).

Local musicians, carrying their own instruments, are due to check in promptly at 9 a.m. Friday for breakout sessions in jazz piano, voice, percussion, bass, trumpet, saxophone and flute. The sessions will be interactive, a chance for local musicians to learn from experienced players.

The seasoned Jazz Informance instructors are from such institutions as Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. Instructors include Sa Davis (percussion), Greg Holt (bass), Curtis Warner (drums), Hey Rim Jeon (piano), Tim Mayer (saxophone/flute) and Laura Brunner (vocalist).

“As soon as students register we give them the four songs that these music masters have already agreed to use,” said Charity, “and the students can begin practicing that music.”

After an hour to study the provided sheet music, the students and instructors will engage in a show-and-tell session that will conclude at 2 p.m. with a live performance on the Sandler Center’s main stage with all participants.

“I thought, what does that do for a child’s self-confidence?” Charity asked. “They’re learning teamwork in a whole new way and then taking instruction from instructors they just met that morning. These are life lessons that will transcend beyond the class and into other areas of life.”

The group performance is free and open to the public.

The second day of Jazz Informance is described by Charity as a “dressy event” at the Sandler Center, with a live concert featuring saxophonist Wilton Felder, a founding member of The Crusaders. Felder will be joined by pianist Jeon, percussionist Davis, 11-year- old prodigy Caleb Sanders on drums and others. Tickets range from $35 to $60.

For more information visit www.jazzinformance.com or call (757) 636-2333.

Jeff Maisey, (757) 222-3934, jeff.maisey@portfolioweekly.com

Originally published by BY JEFF MAISEY.

(c) 2008 Virginian – Pilot. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.