Jazz on John Street event replaces the Jazz Showcase
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on August 8, 2017 5:50 AM
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The Paul Bomar Quartet was the featured jazz artist at the first Jazz on John Street at the Arts Council of Wayne County back in July. The artist for the September event will be Ernest Turner.
Jazz on John Street is a new event that the Arts Council of Wayne started a couple months ago. It replaced the Wayne County Jazz Showcase that used to be held each month for a few years.
It will be held at the Arts Council Sept. 15 from 7 to 9 p.m. and is free. The featured performer will be Ernest Turner.
"He was a big favorite in December of last year," said Wendy Walker, Arts Council director. "A lot of people asked us to bring him back. He had a lot of lessons about music history while he played. We are thrilled to be able to have him come back."
Ms. Walker said there is a little more flexibility with Jazz on John Street than there was with Wayne County Jazz Showcase. Jazz on John Street is held every other month, but not on the same day each month.
That also gives the artists who participate more flexibility.
The Arts Council tries to find musicians in the state, but won't turn down someone who's from outside North Carolina.
"We want people to know that there is still jazz music to be heard here," Ms. Walker said. "It's a great event to come to, have some wine and refreshments, listen to great jazz and see the art."
For Jazz on John Street, there will also be an education element so those attending can learn a little bit about the type of music they're hearing, more about the artists and also how music history evolved.
Another change from the Wayne County Jazz Showcase is how the room is set up for Jazz on John Street.
"It was longways in the room where the band was down by the window and all the rows worked back from there, which was great if you were any one of the first five or six rows," Ms. Walker said. "But after that, you really couldn't see and it was crowded. You didn't always have such a great shot at looking at the artists you were listening to.
"Now there is no bad seat in the house. They're spread out in a semi-circle so you're really right up there with the artist."
Anyone can attend Jazz on John Street.
"If you think you like jazz music, we know you're going to love it," Ms. Walker said. "If you don't think you like jazz music, come and try it, you might be surprised. There's a wide range of jazz. We cast a pretty wide net for the scope of musicians that we have joining us.
"That is one of the goals this year, to make sure it all didn't sound the same. We wanted to find different artists. We wanted to find vocalists with different tones and qualities, different styles of jazz."
Visitors to Jazz on John Street can also see the art exhibits that change every six weeks.
"So if you came to visit us a couple months ago and heard a great band and saw the art, it's going to be a completely different experience when you come back," Ms. Walker said.
"We know that the folks in Wayne County love that jazz music. We certainly want to keep bringing that to them. We just want some new, fresh elements to brighten it up."