JSU will be virtually hosting its 10th Annual Jazz Festival on Tuesday, April 20. Preparations for the Jazz Festival have been ongoing since January 2021, as students and faculty have been mixing audio and editing audio and videos since March. When asked what the audience should expect to see, Dr. Andy Nevala, Director of Jazz Studies at JSU, answered, “A little bit of everything!

The Jazz Faculty performed with Chris Fryar, drummer with the Zac Brown Band on a hot Latin number. JSU Jazz Ensemble I performed modern arrangements and compositions in the big band setting, while JSU Jazz Ensembles II and III performed more traditional numbers,” stated Nevala. “The Alabama Jazz Collective performed an exciting Randy Brecker composition, ‘Sponge,’ and you’ll hear original music from the JSU students in Nevala Combo I. The visiting performing groups will be exciting to see and hear as well!”

The Jazz Festival also offers the students to enrich their leadership and planning capabilities. “A large festival requires hours and hours of planning and preparation, and on the day of the event the students are really the ones running things. Those experiences are invaluable as they get ready for future careers,” Nevala emphasized. “None of us are getting paid extra to put all the hours in to make something like this possible; the end result more than makes up for it, both for our students, and future Gamecocks.”

This year, the Jazz Faculty, Alabama Jazz Collective, JSU Graduate Lee Roberts, and JSU Graduate Assistant Caleb Howard will be featured in the festival in lieu of the usual prominent guest jazz artist. The usual workshop following performances will also be unavailable. Despite the slight deviations from past Jazz Festivals, though, the event is still a great learning opportunity for the students who participate.

“The JSU Jazz Festival is the largest educational Jazz Festival in the region. It has brought a visibility to our program that we wouldn’t have had otherwise, especially in recruiting. In a normal year, we would have 10 different schools participating, all coming to our campus and experiencing what JSU has to offer. This year, that couldn’t happen, so hopefully our Jazz Festival Video can reach the students wherever they are, and get them excited to come to JSU,” Nevala explains. “The focus of our festival is on Jazz education and performance – each participating group is judged as they perform, and immediately following their performance receive a clinic from respected Jazz Educators – not every festival has those opportunities. It’s also a tremendous opportunity for our students to perform with and learn from the guest artists we bring in; from picking them up at the airport, to dinner at Cooter Browns, to rehearsing and participating in clinics and performances.”

The Jazz Festival will begin to be livestreamed on April 20 on YouTube at 7PM CST. Any questions can be directed to Dr. Andy Nevala (anevala@jsu.edu).