Jazz Licks for the Local

In the La Crosse area, there are many class acts that roll through our town for all sorts of music events.  And proudly publicized is the annual Jazz Fest that brings in nationwide known names and, of course, the spotlight of local artists.  Even outside of Jazz Fest, there are many locations that host jazz nights that feature local musicians.  And most of the time, it seems like the local artists are the ones who get the most attention from Coulee Region residents.  I’ll just say what we all think, we’re proud of our local talent.

If you aren’t the live/eat/sleep jazz fan, or even the annual Jazz Fest attendee, you probably don’t know many names in the local jazz community.  But without naming names, I will tell you that the talent is deep.  I would suggest heading out to a jazz night or Jazz Fest sometime this year, just so you can see what all the commotion is about.

One of the local jazz stories that I was proud to be a part of was the recording of Winona State University Jazz Ensemble’s Home.  Recorded in the spring of 2008, our jazz ensemble put together 9 songs from that academic year and had them professionally recorded.  Produced by Grammy Award winning producer Brett Huss (Bill Miller Grammy Award winner) and WSU Jazz director Rich MacDonald, the album was released in the fall of 2008.  Throughout my seat in the WSU Jazz Ensemble, the fans came to know us as the best kept secret in Winona.  We had a very diverse group of musicians that made up our ensemble.  From the best skilled music performance majors to students like me not even majoring in the music department, we had the makings of a well-oiled machine.

With as much talent that we had in the band in 2008, we decided to go forth on recording an album professionally.  Staying in Winona a few days after graduation, our ensemble practiced, recorded, punched, edited and played back to lay down the best tracks possible.  If anything, we all experienced how much fun recording an album could be.  After months of tweaks and producing, Home was released.

Home was a great example of how jazz in this area is still going strong, and more so to show that all ages, levels and styles can define the strength of jazz in between the bluffs.  The recording is available for a donation of $15 and can be purchased at the WSU Department of Music office, the WSU Bookstore, Hardt’s Music and Audio in Winona, or by contacting Rich MacDonald at rmacdonald@winona.edu or 507-457-5259.  Supporting the jazz program at Winona State allows the ensemble to continue spreading all styles of jazz around the community through tours and future albums, live and professionally.

Take a listen to excerpts of Home at WSU Jazz Ensemble’s MySpace page or their Friends of Jazz website.