Bring your instrument if you would like to join us on stage for a while, or bring your dancing shoes if you'd like to come and social dance. Either way, we'll be playing from 7-11! Sign-ups for musicians begin at 7, and we'll have fake books and tablets with songs on them ready to go for you. Here's a taste of the night -

NEW PLAYERS, please feel free to bring your instrument and join us for a low-pressure and learning-friendly set right at 7:30. This first set of the night will feature songs that are friendly for beginners, and backed by seasoned pros.

Hit up our Learn+Play It page for some tips on how this works, links to fake books and lead sheets, and more.

Interested but not sure if it's for you? Go here for videos of jams, how it works, + more info.

We started a new once-a-month workshop over the summer - aimed at musicians relatively new to trad jazz, we take a deep dive into a few trad jazz songs, learn them by ear, and play around with them in a small group setting. ALL ARE WELCOME- it's a beginner to intermediate level with practical applications that will help you enjoy a jam more + contribute quicker. We'll have lead sheets and jam packets at the event. (Be a nerd - check out more on the Learn+Play page.) RSVP on our FB!

Led by two professional music educators:
Lauren Spavelko, music faculty at Otterbein, BS in Music Ed, MS in Composition, international award winning performer and composer.
Joe Brenneman, professional swing and trad jazz performer (reeds, vocals), recently best known as reedman + vocals for the Whirlybirds. BS in clarinet performance, instructor at Musicologie (and COHJS Board Member - thanks for serving Joe!).

This time we'll learn + play around with Just a Closer Walk With Thee (concert Bb) ... a(-nother!) literally worldwide timeless shared cultural treasure. These recordings span almost 100 years and reach from the US to Europe to Japan. Get your axe out, listen and just play along. For a hint, the pickups start on the 3rd of the scale (D, in Bb) and the downbeat is the 5th (F).
Tremé Brass Band doing a funeral. Very real + typical in my own experience in New Orleans.
Tuba Skinny - also very typical on the streets of NOLA.
Shaye Cohn (of Tuba Skinny) sitting in with a band in a bar in Japan.
Another funeral procession.
An unknown trad jazz version.
Heartbeat Jazz Band in a church.
Doreen Ketchens and her family on the streets of NOLA - also very typical. Their website.
Wynton Marsalis+Eric Clapton - 6:38 drum break, 8:30 up-tempo spiritual, trad jazz, blues guitar.
  As one commenter put it, "Pure, Unadulterated, booty shakin', raise the dead, musical genius."
Wynton Marsalis + friends do a funeral parade in London England ... yeah that's right!

Hope to see you there!