Breaking the rules is jazz. This was a big topic at the forum on Wednesday March 15, when SSU’s Latin Band welcomed guest alumni Dave MacNab to participate in their jam session. Most weeks, Doug Leibinger invites a guest to jazz forum to engage with the students and participate in the music played and the discussions.

“It’s as much about cultural exchange and development as it is about education,” said Johann Clapstein, a music education major on the instrumental track who is a transfer student attending their first year at SSU. This forum had the audience very engaged as ideas and perspectives were passed around in a friendly discussion. It went from about 1-3 p.m.  in Schroeder Hall.

Clapstein said about attending the event, “Latin Jazz is an interest of mine.” Many of the audience members were music majors or had some sort of interest in music. Clapstein plays the tuba and congas and participates in many ensembles at Sonoma State. “Music to me is a method of communication and a communal experience,” said Clapstein.

Jomei Greer, age 20, who is a junior at Sonoma State with a jazz studies major, agreed with this statement. “It’s one universal language everyone speaks a different way.” Greer said that there is an “expected sound” at a jazz jam. He likes to see the different influences musicians bring to jazz through their different musical backgrounds.

When opening the forum, Kendrick Freeman said that everyone should feel free to ask any questions, and this is just what happened.

There were five people playing the first song, and later guest MacNab joined in on guitar. Hector Altamirano also played the guitar. Freeman played the drums, Justice Jones played the piano, Brian Reed played the saxophone, and Sajan Maharjan played the congas.

There were about seven or eight audience members in total, and they were very interactive. One discussion that was brought up was match grip versus traditional drums. The match grip is when the stick is held the same in each hand. The traditional grip is when the stick is held differently in each hand. (Wikipedia) It was discussed that the grip style doesn’t matter, just the approach.

Jazz is something that can be played a number of different ways. There are many different variations and ways that you can change the music while still respecting the framework. One of the discussions brought this idea up and someone mentioned that you have to have some sort of framework before making it your own. By learning all the songs, styles, and variations, you are able to take what you have learned and put your own style into it.

The history of Jazz and where it originated was also discussed. They brought up Jelly Roll Morton and Duke Ellington. Ellington was brought up from his saying that there are only two kinds of music, “good music, and bad music.”

Andrew Emer, the jazz bass instructor, mentioned building a “rhythm sandcastle” and what that means. All the musicians are building the same sandcastle, this being the overall sound and structure of the music they are creating.