What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1362736
JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette Y ear one: Found a new festival. Year two: Take everything completely virtual, expand teaching and performing musicians to international voices. Year three: Switch to a hybrid of in-person and virtual offerings — and add a third day to the schedule. The Fayetteville Jazz Festival is ever- changing! "I think that probably the biggest takeaway that I got, especially from the first year, and then from last year, was the importance of connecting," muses Chris Teal, the festival director. Facilitating relationships between student musicians at all levels and seasoned professionals helps to break down the barrier of perceived unrelatability, Teal explains. And that has been one of the festival's central pillars since its inception. "And also, as a performing jazz musician myself, it's always really fun to kind of put myself back in that headspace of, 'Oh, man, I remember being where you are as high school students or college students, and hearing this music for the first time,'" he goes on. Sometimes sharing some of his own first experiences with jazz, as well as exploring the history of the genre, is a bit of a guilty pleasure, Teal admits. "Understanding that history and acknowledging that, but also seeing this is something that is so diverse, and everybody can learn about it, everybody can do it" are among the points he finds it important to pass on, Teal shares. "It's going in and connecting all of these generations, and ideally, making relationships between students of all ages and those performers. Getting these connections happening is really fun to spark in a virtual setting, but especially getting back to doing it in a live, in-person setting." "It's incredibly important for students in the arts to see people out there doing what they aspire to do," agrees Alexa Tarantino. Tarantino is a New York-based saxophonist who has performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and the Cecile McLorin Salvant Quintet, among other jazz titans. She is one of the artists-in-residence for the third annual festival. "I was inspired to pick up the saxophone because I saw a young woman playing it," she continues. "Representation matters, and that's part of why I love traveling and meeting young students (particularly female- identifying students) around the world — I want them to know that they can do this, too." Tarantino will contribute to both the educational and performance sides of the festival as she leads workshops for students and shares some of her new music. That educational component of the Fayetteville Jazz Festival will also be bolstered this year by a new partnership with the Music Moves organization. The Arkansas nonprofit promotes the extraordinary contribution of African-Americans to music of all genres and is committed to educating and engaging the community by making high-quality performances of Black music and educational materials accessible to everyone. "I think it's a great partnership; I think this idea works," asserts Rodney Block, Arkansas trumpet player and another festival artist-in-residence. Block has done some work with the nonprofit organization and its co-founder Anthony Ball. Block and Ball will perform together during the Friday night festival performance, as well as participate in other panels and performances throughout the festival. "The overall picture is to educate APRIL 18-24, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 5 See Jazz Page 6 FAYETTEVILLE From Ella To Beyonce Jazz Fest returns, connects past to future "The great thing about jazz, I think it allows you to play whatever it is you're feeling, whatever it is you want to play," muses Rodney Block, one of the artists-in-residence for the third annual Fayetteville Jazz Festival. "And I think jazz kind of gives you that foundation to expand however you want to. So for me, the relevancy of the music, the thoughtfulness, the sophistication, the spirit, and to sum it up, the light that you find in it — that's my relationship with jazz." Here, students from Prairie Grove High School participate in a workshop during the inaugural festival. (Courtesy Photo) FAQ Fayetteville Jazz Festival WHEN — April 23-25; times, events vary WHERE — Various locations in Northwest Arkansas COST — Events open to the public are free, but reserva- tions are required to maintain social distancing standards INFO — fayettevillejazzfestival. com, musicmovesar.com FYI — Regional student jazz bands are invited to participate in performance clinics through the festival. The Institute for Creative Music nonprofit will award several scholarships to its 2021 summer music camp to high-performing students who participate in the school clinics.