GCSU, partnered with Allied Arts of Milledgeville, hosted their sixth annual “Jazz at the Magnolia” community event on Saturday, Sept. 14. The event showcased four jazz combos, including a special guest artist, Bill Gibson.
Bill Gibson is a professional trombonist who has worked all over the country writing and releasing his own jazz albums. Gibson is an advocate for jazz education and has taught at many university music programs over the years, including Valley City State University, Augustana College and the University of Sioux Falls.
The four jazz combos included performances by two different GCSU student combos, the McComb Student Combo and the Porter Student Combo. The two other group performances consisted of the GCSU Faculty Jazz Group and the GDC Group with guest artist Gibson.
The event took place in the Magnolia Ballroom and brought a crowd of jazz enthusiasts, students of different majors and locals interested in jazz music. Along with music and refreshments, the night featured a raffle of original artwork by visual artist Chad Wilson that he created throughout the performances that evening.
“I think jazz is something that can be shared with everybody because it is that kind of unpredictable,” said Addy Wheeler, a sophomore music therapy major.
The night kicked off with the two GCSU student combos, beginning with the McComb combo who performed “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” by The King Cole Trio. The performance showcased both the vocals and each instrument play, which included bass, drums, piano, tenor and trombone.
The second student performance, by the Porter combo, continued the night with a selection of “Little Sunflower” by Freddie Hubbard. Similarly, this combo highlighted every musician on the stage and consisted of the vocals, bass, drums, piano, flute and trombone.
The event segwayed to GCSU’s own faculty jazz group which consists of music professors who played a few different selections of songs. The instruments included bass, drums, piano, guitar, trumpet, tenor sax and vibes.
Before Gibson was introduced, an intermission was taken during which the attendees and musicians mingled, helped themselves to refreshments and interacted with the Allied Arts and the GCSU Music Department tables that were set up to communicate any information or answer any questions.
After intermission, Gibson, along with several of the music faculty group performers, performed a variety of different songs, most of which were written by Gibson himself. This included his song “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” The event ended with a round of applause from the audience, followed by statements of gratitude from Gibson for the invitation and the audience’s attendance.
“I think jazz is America’s music, so I think it’s important to keep alive by teaching it down to the next generation to keep it going,” said Cliff Towner, professor of music and director of band activities at GCSU.
Aside from the event, the GCSU Music Department advocates for student education in all types of music. The department exposes the university and the broader Milledgeville community to the musical arts with events like jazz night and chorus ensembles throughout the semester.
“It is an opportunity for people in the community to come and see it, especially guest artists who are super good at it,” Wheeler said.
The popularization of jazz music in pop culture with hit movies like “La La Land” contributes to a piqued interest in jazz and the department urther increases the exposure of jazz, especially within the GCSU and Milledgeville community with “Jazz at the Magnolia.” The events both expose the community to new musicand support current and aspiring musicians.
“For me, the jazz ones [events] tend to be more popular; they bring out a different audience then we would get at other events,” Towner said.
Support of events like the “Jazz at the Magnolia” helps pave the way for the future showcases of students, but also raises awareness of the importance of these events. There are over 45 events scheduled for the Music Department this school year, giving students and Milledgeville locals plenty of opportunities to enjoy and support the local music scene.
