Caroline Bryant
Editor-In-Chief
Down in Branscomb’s jazz band room, students may hear the sounds of “jazz jams,” the get-togethers of the FSC’s Jazz Education Network (JEN) chapter.
JEN was founded in 2008 by Mary Jo Papich and Dr. Lou Fishcer to celebrate and keep the genre alive. What started as a music conference in St. Louis expanded into a network with thousands of members, now including collegiate, secondary education and community-based chapters.
FSC’s chapter is currently run by co-presidents senior Andre Fernandez and sophomore Julia Lehman who hope to continue JEN’s legacy– and the passion for jazz music –alive on campus.
“[JEN] is basically a jazz-based community trying to build the knowledge of jazz and basically different types of styles, different branches of it, where it comes from, the origins,” Lehman said. “And [it] is a community thing where you can just come, play, learn about jazz and build your knowledge on it.”
Though the chapter often collaborates with the music fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha, and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), students do not have to be a music major or have prior knowledge about music to join. It’s for anyone with the slightest interest.
Jazz jams, concerts and master classes are organized to spark that curiosity. New to the list, jazz jams are meetings to “jam out.” Students are free to rehearse with a group, play a solo, learn their favorite song– anything their heart desires. These are dedicated sessions made for the sake of loving jazz.
Concerts feature the big band, jazz ensemble and jazz workshop ensemble directed by Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies, Dr. Jeffrey Benetar. Recently, JEN partnered with the Black Student Union (BSU) for the Celebration of Black Jazz Composers Vol. 4, for a concert performed by the three groups in honor of Black History Month.
Masterclasses include one-on-one stage workshops to prepare for each concert. On occasion, workshops include artists-in-residence, world-renowned composers and musicians who visit for rehearsal and performance with JEN. Their latest guest was Grammy nominated jazz pianist Dr. Lewis Porter, who participated in the chapter’s Jazz Extraordinaire 2024.
Yet, concerts and special guests may become limited, Lehman said. Since JEN only has six members, they are not eligible for Student Government Association (SGA) funding. This means most activities organized by the chapter will continue to come out of the student’s pockets.
“It’s hard. I have so many ideas that I would love to try, but it’s just without that extra support and extra help, there’s only so much I can do,” Lehman said.
For instance, Lehman wants to partner with the Smash Bros Club to perform the video game’s music live. However, purchasing the music and preparation for the event costs time and money.
To boost chapter membership, Lehman stresses the importance of giving it a shot. While she is co-president, she wasn’t always obsessed with the genre.
“When I was in elementary school, I learned how to play classical music. And obviously I listened to pop and stuff. I listened to Bruno Mars a lot. He’s my favorite artist. But, even Bruno Mars started branching out into different music. He started working a lot around jazz with R&B … it made me genuinely interested,” Lehman said. “I asked my band director in middle school, I was like, ‘Is there anything I can get into?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, we have a jazz band program here, you might want to try it.’”
Joining the band, Lehman was mesmerized by how different it was to her classical roots. She stuck with the jazz band into high school, participating in competitions with other schools. The support and community of musicians kept her in a trance.
“All the musicians there were super supportive of each other,” Lehman said. “They were like, ‘Wow, your solo was amazing. Your tone is great.’ We came in the cafeteria, and all of us were sitting together talking about all the songs we’re playing and everything. And that just made me realize how amazing it is to bond over something that is so sheltered, I guess. Something that is not heard of commonly.”
The love inspired her so much that she became a music major and ultimately joined JEN. She hopes others will find their passion for the genre, too.
“I feel like with the Jazz Education Network, the whole idea behind building a community and stuff makes it important,” Lehman said. “That’s something that I took from what I learned in high school and I brought it here … as soon as I heard about it [JEN], I was like, ‘I want to be in that club.’”
