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All That Jazz
Music City may be one county over, but Mt. Juliet has its share of live music and music-lovers.
One group getting some positive buzz recently is the Jazz Alliance, which began life a couple years ago as the West Wilson Arts Alliance Community Jazz Band. Since then, a good thing has only gotten better – not to mention easier to fit on letterhead.
“The Arts Alliance wanted to have a community band, and so they contacted Glenn Martin, who is a professor of jazz at Cumberland University,” says Joe Thordsen, who co-directs the ensemble along with Dean Kranhold.
The band was formed with local musicians and some from the surrounding area.
“Like most of the people, I love to play –– and even have a degree in music – but I’m doing it just for fun,” Thordsen says.
By early 2008, the group was performing at local events, including a jazz festival in Unionville and joint outings with an Arts Alliance choral group.
Jazz Alliance has taken the stage at the Wilson County Fair, and it continues to add more performances and more robust pieces to its musical repertoire.
“We’re more of a ‘rehearse and book as we go’ kind of group, but we’re also working more on getting things set to a calendar,” Thordsen says. “We performed at the Arts Alliance Gala earlier in 2009, and we want to repeat some events, like performing at the Jazz on the Cumberland festival in Granville. It was a long haul, but it was a beautiful setting and we got to play an hour-long set.”
The group has about 18 members, and typically the whole roster is on hand for performances. But it’s still a volunteer effort that relies on people’s love of music and commitment to the band.
“We couldn’t be happier with how things are going,” he says. “We have been buying some new music, and the group gets better with every rehearsal. Everybody’s getting used to each other, and we’re beginning to play off each other as well as the music.”
Local jazz aficionados are taking note, and the crowds are growing.
“[Audiences have been] very appreciative and very complimentary,” Thordsen says. “We played at the Del Webb community, and they really were touching. Several people said that we reminded them of Count Basie or Glenn Miller. Those are the real stars, and for us to even come close to evoking that image is really nice to hear.”
Story by Joe Morris
