The Inaugural Jazzfest, a communal music event held in Vanbrugh Bowl on Tuesday the 6th of June, combined the forces of the University of York’s Jazz Orchestra, Clarinet Choir, Big Band 106, Saxophone Quintet and Jazz and Big Band. Audience members showed up armed with picnic blankets and camping chairs to spend an afternoon relaxing in the sun and enjoying the chilled atmosphere.
First up was UOY Jazz Orchestra were a group of a moderate size tackling jazz classics that provided an impressive opening to the festival. Their deeper, brassier sound was complemented by the UOY Clarinet Choir who followed them. Though only small in size, the group’s ensemble playing was very tight and their Disney-heavy repertoire went down a storm with the audience, many of whom could be heard singing along.
The recently-formed 20-piece Big Band 106 brought the scale back up, performing a mixture of modern and classic works under the direction of Ben Moss and showcasing some very impressive solos. A particular highlight of the set was a cheerful, well-executed cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Sir Duke’. Another smaller group, the UOY Saxophone Quintet, were up next and provided a mighty sound for only five instruments. The group were particularly noteworthy for performing a majority of arrangements by one of their own members, Neo Borgia on baritone saxophone.
The last group to perform was the UOY Jazz and Big Band under the direction of Georgia Corrin and Felix Hammer, reprising their set from the Jazz in Summer concert on the previous Thursday. As the biggest ensemble at the festival, they provided a joyful finish with such upbeat numbers as Nat King Cole’s ‘L-O-V-E’ and a medley of Electric Light Orchestra’s greatest hits.
The final performance of the festival massed every performer of the afternoon under the direction of Georgia and Felix to perform two large-scale jazz works that could be undoubtably heard from the other side of the lake. As an audience member, it was an impressive close to the festival and a joyful marker of what makes communal music-making so fantastic.
A collaboration on this scale has not been seen at the university recently but the musicians are keen to carry it on, says Jazz and Big Band director Georgia. “We realised that York itself has a huge wealth of student jazz musicians across many ensembles and that we’d love to put on a gig where people could come along, have a picnic and a drink, and experience the incredible musicianship that the Uni has to offer,” she told me after the festival, citing the collaboration between so many ensembles “that wouldn’t usually be able to play alongside each other,” as her favourite part of being involved in Jazzfest.
This event was also unique among recent musical ventures as it was completely free to attend, unlike many other concerts put on by University ensembles. Clarinettist Katie, who played in several of the afternoon’s performances, acknowledged how important this was in drawing the substantial audience who turned out to enjoy an afternoon of jazz in the sunshine: “specifically free outdoor events like Jazzfest was are in my opinion really important because it presents an opportunity to anyone to get to experience live music, something that is not always accessible to everyone.”
Jazzfest was not only a cheerful and relaxing way to end exams, but also an important way to bring music out of the department and into the consciousness of the wider University community. Large-scale collaboration events like this give not only musicians but audiences the opportunity to come together in appreciation of the work and talents of York’s student musicians.
The outdoor, accessible nature of this event also drew the attention of those passing by in a way that just isn’t possible in the more traditional concert-hall setting, making Jazzfest much more approachable than many other musical events on campus. I think I speak on behalf of both the musicians and the audience when I say that this model of events is something I hope to see continued in York’s musical future.