David McWilliams CD cover/Photographs by Lynne Brown, Perspective2studio.com
Some locals remember the not so distant past around Lansing when live jazz didn’t require a ticket to the Wharton Center to sit and enjoy. That scenario is happening once again, and fans and players alike are happy that it is.
The Jack Tar Hotel, Dines, and The Garage are only some of the venues where a saxophone’s wail might have been heard 40 or 50 years ago, enticing passers-by to stick their heads in and see what was going on.
There’s a current resurgence of live jazz in Greater Lansing giving fans a lot more options. At perhaps unlikely places like Gone Wired Café on Michigan Ave, Perpsective2 in Old Town or Mumbai Cuisine in East Lansing, this genre of music is once again attracting all kinds of attention.
One reason for all this activity is because the Jazz Studies program at Michigan State University seeds the area with student musicians on par with those you’d expect to pay big bucks to hear in person. Instead, you may find a late night jam session for the price of coffee or be able to dine without a cover charge to the background ambience of a standup bass, piano and the swish of a drummer’s brush.
Even the ticketed shows are very reasonably priced. Recent attendees at the Big Barn Jazz series (literally held inside a café in the barn at Jolly and Hagadorn Roads) paid $10 a pop to hear almost two hours of Sunny Wilkinson’s world-class vocals, along with fascinating tidbits about her life as a professional jazz singer since her first gig in 1970.
Lansing Community College’s music program is also a resource for those wanting to connect with fresh, new performers. Mike Daniels, who has been teaching percussion there for over 25 years and more recently a course on the music business, is happy about all the activity lately. With his own trio and quartet, he’s still a regular player in this area. He’s also a member of the LCC Faculty Jazz Band.
“For me, the root of this revival started when Rodney Whitaker came to MSU about ten years ago to direct that great program,” commented Daniels.
Whitaker has friends like Wynton and Bradford Marsalis, who he’s presented to local audiences over the years.
“All that enlivened this community in a big way,” Daniels continued.
As for local venues showing interest in booking jazz, Daniels is cautiously optimistic.
“It takes awhile to build an audience. I’ve had times as a jazz player when gigs were plentiful but then would disappear if people didn’t show up to listen. Venue owners have to consider their bottom line. Let’s hope what is happening now will continue for a long time.”
One of the most enthusiastic support groups of players and jazz fans is The Jazz Alliance of Mid-Michigan, formed last fall by people like Lois Mummaw and her husband Gregg Hill, hard core jazz lovers who fly off to New Orleans at the drop of a porkpie, to that city so eternally tied to the roots of this art form. With over 100 founding members and growing and over 2,500 getting JAMM’s monthly email blast about local events in the area, there are lots of ways to find out who’s playing where, on any given day or night.
Mike Stratton, a JAMM founder, whose Vinyl Side of Midnight radio show on LCC’s WLNZ station has been educating and entertaining the area on the topic of jazz for thirteen years, is also watching what’s been building lately.
“It appears as though people aren’t as afraid to book jazz as they were in the past.”
Mike has always made a point of supporting the local scene and local players as well. He often interviews musicians who may have a CD being released or a special concert in the works. Recently, at the legendary Detroit Jazz Festival he recalled seeing a group of players who came out of the MSU jazz program standing around with Branford Marsalis, each talking about their latest projects.
“Some of these graduates have gone on to play with the biggest names in the world of jazz music and we have access to this kind of talent right here in town. That’s amazing.”
Though you may not see many double-breasted suits or other evening finery folks used to wear steppin’ out on Washington Ave in the 1950’s and 60’s, you sure can’t tell the difference otherwise once you’re sitting with a nice Cabernet listening to those luscious standards jazz fans never tire of hearing.
For newer tunes, you can check out people like MSU grad and trumpet player David McWilliams, who’s CD “Nighthawks,” a beautiful offering of original compositions, will be premiered soon at Old Town’s Perspective2. The Creole Gallery around the corner is another place known for presenting some fantastic artists.
“It’s great to see the jazz communities of Lansing and Michigan State begin to come together. There are a bunch of students at MSU who are hungry to play, and the developing jazz scene around Lansing gives us a place to do that. The audiences seem to like it too,” says McWilliams, who will head east soon to continue his studies and likely play around New York City now and then, where other former students often land.
So many books and articles have been written about the topic of jazz, a truly American creation. It’s an endless well of inspiration and always will be. Just when we might think it’s something we only export to countries recently discovering its power and glory, jazz comes home to roost again in its own backyard, and aren’t we the lucky cats who get to reap the benefits?
Oh yeah.
