Without its infamous Jazz Night, 601 would risk losing any sophistication it has. It serves dual purpose: for the winddown from the week, or the wind up for the classic Thursday night throwback.
The cool sleaziness of jazz sooths any disquiet of the mind. Crucially you don’t have to be drunk to enjoy it. And as we all should know jazz is notoriously good for the brain. Since we’re all at such a highly regarded academic institution, jazz is another form for cultivating our minds.
Jazzwork’s student rendition of jazz is consistently delivered smoothly and artfully. Yet there are only sections of improvisation, and it is mostly the same musicians each week. But they aren’t professionals, so perhaps it would be too much to ask to improvise for the entirety of the performance. The musicians stand directly forwards- the point is, they aren’t facing each other.
601 fails to provide that intimate setting that is necessary for the jazz to really cut deep, to get truly together in the mist of the music. The distinct closeness from the union setting last year has been lost. Yet it is a great thing that music is still thriving, that it retains a place at all over speakers and pop that provide an instant gratification.
Credit: Unsplash/Jens Thekkeveettil.
In many ways, jazz is a sensitive business and one that requires sensitive surroundings. The free-flowing nature of the music must be protected above all else. It’s an eloquent unwritten melody made to heal the soul.
When one thinks of jazz, La La land often comes to mind. Caveau de la Huchette is featured in the cut-out scene in which Mia and Sebastian waltz through in the dreamland of Paris. The cellars of Paris are where the warm hues of jazz speak mildly and with a mellow edge.
Surely a place where you know everyone offers anything but an escapism into a fantastical world? St Andrews doesn’t seem to attract young tourists, and so it doesn’t really provide the opportunity of meeting people outside of the clique. There is something remarkable and touching about dancing with strangers.
The jazz scene in Paris is greatly intimate and nostalgic. An infamous jazz club, Caveau de la Huchette will never just be an underground cellar near Notre Dame, opened in the hangover from World War II. It is the epitome of jazz – swing marks an insatiable enthusiasm for freedom.
Scruffy posters and leaflets mark the entrance. Bits of this club perhaps resemble the James Dean bar in Prague, both have two floors for example, a bar with seats and then the underground room, but La Huchette’s vault is a more authentic version. Live music played in close proximities beneath the city of love (sigh for the cliché) is a very romantic notion after all.
Yellows, autumnal oranges, red and brown tones are used to light the cellar. In comparison, lighting in 601 is a cold, clean blue, and for jazz that simply shouldn’t work. Coldness is the antithesis of all what jazz stands for. If anything, it becomes a static, harsh colour that clashes with the music. Caveau de la Huchette is a precious space completely stripped down to the jazz and to the people.
Credit: Unsplash/Matheus Frade.
The addition of older, and experienced musicians from the community playing alongside students is an invaluable one. In Paris, older dancers guide younger ones. Jazz is at its core the confession of exuberance, and a resistance to becoming old and senile. Those most willing to embrace this make the best jazz musicians. Jazz musicians in Paris promise to be young at heart.
At 601, jazz lacks an essential depth, if it is to be anything special. The introduction of a double bass could really help harbour an intrinsic glow that professional jazz musicians muster. It risks becoming an icy cold fanfare, despite the talent of those who play it.
Jazz is collaboration, it’s closeness, and yellow is the warmest colour there is. The lighting in 601 is anything but subdued. It’s easy to underestimate the importance of lighting. But Lighting matters and it is part of the sensuous experience.
A rustic yellow takes the scene in Caveua de la Huchette back to the 60s, post war, and in the wake of an optimistic future, finally coming together and mending the fractures inflicted by conflict. Even today, it feels like stepping back into the good old days.
In this jazz club, the musicians respond, and most importantly, interact with their audience. There is an interval from live music with speakers which have an empty loudness in comparison, but when the live music comes back on it makes it more invigorating, and it becomes more of a collaborative performance. The nature of the stage in 601 makes interactions with the audience harder. Perhaps St Andrews could do with a full venue devoted entirely to jazz, and give more students an opportunity to perform, or to encourage more into the jazz world. But jazz belongs anywhere where it will be heard.
We should all be very grateful for the musicians in St Andrews, despite it being a clique of its own. If jazz is for anything, it is to put any anxieties at ease, and Jazz Night does that.
But jazz at St Andrews lacks warmth and introducing some warmer colours would certainly be a good place to start.
Comments