Do you like jazz? Well, there is a night filled with it, whether you’re playing jazz on stage or listening while doing homework or eating, UW-Whitewater has a night of jazz for you. Music fills the space, with people nodding their heads, tapping their feet or singing along. The Jazz Education Network (JEN) makes this possible and coordinates this event so jazz lovers can unite for one night in the University Center.
This particular night, Nov. 6, was for a reading band.
“A group whose purpose is to sight read music they haven’t seen for the fun of it and practice their skills in jazz,” is what Dr. Michael Hackett described a reading band as.
Hackett is in charge of the jazz programs at the Center of the Arts (CA) and is very involved in the jazz scene.
He describes the importance of reading band.
“It’s good for team building for the JEN club and is an outlet to perform while involving the community on campus. It’s an opportunity for music majors and minors to perform with others outside of jazz ensembles since it is a low-key performance without much pressure,” he said. “Jazz one and two get the opportunity to host to make sure we have enough musicians to fill an ensemble since there can be a range of people showing up and it changes every time.”
Hackett isn’t the only professor involved with JEN and their reading band. Matt Sinctak is the saxophone professor in the CA and helps out with the reading band by conducting the group.
“The reading band has been around for 10 to 15 years,” Sinctak said. “This event allows music and non-music students to play jazz in a welcoming environment. Anyone can join the reading band with any instrument.”
He added that “the house band leads things and gets the event started then we rotate players in to play with the band. This event gets people outside of the music program in the jazz group, faculty, high school students, and the community to come together.” Sintchak explains how informal the performance is and how it is OK for performers to make mistakes. The event is free and it is encouraged for others to join and play, But you can sit back and relax to the jazz that surrounds you.
Now that you know some insight from the professors involved, let’s dig into the minds of the performers and the students involved in JEN.
Eli Abraham is a freshman member of JEN. He described his favorite part of the Reading band.
“I love reading jazz standards since I haven’t done a lot of it in high school. I find this opportunity to be very fun and I get to meet people outside of the music circle. It is energetic, inviting for all to play, and Matt brings a great vibe to the event,” Abraham said.
He continued to say how much he likes when jazz bands get to host the reading bands and how nice it is to hear where their tunes are before they perform them at their concert.
Abraham described the event to be like a jazz club where you can relax and listen to jazz or join the band to get some experience in jazz playing.
“It is fun for both parties, gives people a fun and good experience performing while showcasing the culture of music to campus where it won’t be as known as the music building,” Abraham said.
Now that we know a bit about the member’s perspective, let’s move on to what JEN is and learn about the behind-the-scenes from the students in the org.
Jazz Education Network is a jazz club on campus where anyone who has an interest in jazz can join. The national organization brings jazz to campus by creating events for people to get involved in whether that is the reading bands or swing dances.
JEN President Lucy Jungels described the behind-the-scenes of the reading band.
“It is stressful, the board works hard to make sure things run smoothly but it may not turn out as great as we hope to. Sometimes we have to find last-minute fill-ins for the host band. But the fun energy that the reading band emulates makes up for the stress leading up to it.” Jungles said.
She added that the event brings jazz to the campus community and gives the opportunity for music majors to play outside of their ensembles and even try a new instrument.
JEN Vice President Jack Egnew described the reading band as a thing of organized chaos that comes together. The group provides a chance for jazz to spread past the confines of music majors.
“Anyone can join a reading band no matter how much experience you have with your instrument of choice,” Egnew said and went on to explain how this opportunity can be a nice outlet for people to be a part of JEN and to network out to new people.
The reading band brings so much to the community such as bringing jazz lovers together, gaining experience in networking with high school students and telling them about the life of college, bringing a strong sense of community through music, playing and listening to jazz and coming to an event that is open to all and is welcoming.
JEN hosts one more reading band for the semester on Dec. 4 but will have three more next semester, plus a valentine’s swing dance. The reading bands are Wednesday night from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tune into JEN’s future events through their Instagram @uww_jen. If interested in learning more about JEN, you can reach out to Lucy Jungels or Jack Egnew.
