USU Caine Jazz Combo to Host Jazz Jams Session at the TSC Hub

Utah State University’s Caine Jazz Combo will host its monthly Jazz Jams concert from 7-9 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Taggart Student Center Hub at USU.

This concert will feature the Caine Jazz Combo, guest pianist Alex Sjobeck, and jazz students from USU’s Music Department.

Additionally, the jam session is open to all, and people are encouraged to bring their instrument and join in.

“Usually what we do is we have a sign-up sheet so people can put their name down, what instrument they play, and what tune they want to play,” said Braun Khan, USU music (Bass) assistant department head, professional practice assistant professor.

Khan said these sessions are designed to give student musicians an opportunity to hone their jazz performance skills in an informal setting. The focus is on performing and improvising over standard tunes from the jazz repertoire from memory.

“We want our students to be able to walk up when somebody says, ‘Hey, let's play this tune,’ and to know that tune, and be able to play it on the spot without having practiced together or rehearsed,” Khan said.

According to Khan, learning and memorizing tunes is an important part of developing as a jazz musician. These sessions give students the chance to test and refine those skills so that when the time comes, they feel comfortable enough to be able to jump on stage and play.

During the jazz jam concert, there are usually five to seven musicians on stage at once. There is a rhythm section of piano, guitar, bass and drums, and a few horn players.

“We try to keep it pretty casual,” Khan said, “and that's actually why we like to do it at the TSC Hub … because it's really supposed to be at a club where people can talk and people can have food while they enjoy the music.”

Khan continued to say the TSC Hub is a nice location because students can be in the background studying and relaxing, and that's the kind of environment that you want for an event like this.

Jazz Jams is free and open for anyone to attend. Jazz students and musicians are encouraged to show up with their instrument and sign up to play a tune.

For more information regarding this event, check out this site.