Memorial Day jazz in the plaza

May 24, 2008

Jazz is alive and fairly well in St. Augustine. Memorial Day is one of the days when that becomes obvious. The St. Augustine Jazz Society traditionally sponsors a Memorial Day Jazz concert on the Plaza and this year it’s a great one. The concert opens with Bill Doyle Ensemble plus Cheryl Paige. This group of made up of local/area jazzers and is truly outstanding.

The second half of the concert will feature Jan Crawford and her Soul Sensations. Jan started singing with her uncle Clyde Crawford (an OUTSTANDING jazz pianist) a few years ago. When Clyde unfortunately passed away, Jan continued on her own. She sings with various local groups and now has her own backup group. Jan can sell a song in almost any style. (I’ve never heard her try opera, but I’ll bet she can do that too!) Her intonation is outstanding but the main thing that I like is her phrasing. (I’ll give Clyde credit for teaching her phrasing too. His was always awesome.) Lots of singers can sing with appropriate phrasing. After that, you learn how to do songs with “Inappropriate – but good” phrasing. Finally, you learn how to do songs with true Jazz phrasing. The difference can be heard by listening to Doris Day and Ella Fitzgerald do the same song. If you want to hear that kind of thing live, come down Monday and listen to Jan.

The third part of the event on Monday is awarding the Mary Peters Jazz Scholarships. Mary was the first President (and driving spirit) of the Jazz Society. She started the scholarship program and a few years ago, the scholarship program was named for her. Each year students from all over the area audition for a group of professional musician judges. They play a prepared piece and then are given a jazz score cold, to sight read and interpret. The winner (and there have been some duzies) is given a $1000 scholarship to help him or her in his college work. They do not have be jazz or even music majors in college, but they are expected to participate in the jazz program and continue to make good music. Several of the awardees in the past have gone on to become professional players.

The Jazz Society also gives local younger high school jazz players scholarships to attend the Summer Jazz Camp at the University of North Florida. The UNF Jazz program is nationally recognized and their stage band has been rated first or second in the country several times in the past few years. It is a great opportunity for kids to attend and then come back to their local schools and share what has been learned. The St. Augustine Jazz Society has given over $70,000 worth of scholarships over the past few years of the program.

Come and hear some outstanding jazz at this free, special concert on the Plaza, Monday, May 26, (Memorial Day), 1:00 in the afternoon. Usual patio rules, bring your own chair and no alcoholic beverages. Take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy some great jazz as you celebrate the holiday.

Written by MacV · Filed Under Entertainment