Although I enjoy jazz, I wouldn’t say it’s a genre of music that I listen to a lot or know a lot about. So when I was invited to The First Floor’s Jazz evening, hosted by the Oxford Brookes Jazz Society, I was thrilled to be getting a deeper insight into a style that has formed the basis of much of the music we listen to today. One of the main things that attracts me to jazz – apart from soulful singing and eccentric beats – is the glamour of the archetypal jazz era, so upon finding out that tonight’s event is black tie, I was even more excited.
Dressed to the nines, I enter the stylish restaurant with high hopes, and I’m not disappointed. Greeted by a glass of champagne and a jazz quintet playing in the bar/lounge area, the room is already packed, and the atmosphere buzzing. People mix and mingle to a perfect backdrop of lively, semi-improvised pieces from The Real Book – a compilation of lead sheets for jazz tunes.
We are serenaded throughout our meal; the tempo understandably drops to allow people to sit and relax while eating. The food is delicious, and there’s a special ‘jazz martini’ on offer – a fruity ensemble created especially for the night. The majority of the crowd are students either from the jazz society itself or friends of the society. There are a few tables of older guests, and should a similar night take place in the future, I have no doubt that with wider promotion they’d get a good response from locals. Judging from tonight’s crowd, though, space restrictions could mean separate nights for students and locals!
My favourite part of the night is when singer Jenny Shepard delivers ‘jazzed-up’ contemporary favourites such as ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears, in a soulful style and accompanied by the melodic piano playing of John Yates. Mixing current songs with a jazz sound keeps the night fresh and stopped people like me, who may not be familiar with jazz, from becoming alienated. We were also treated to a twenty minute guitar solo from Sam Roberts, who showed off his talent with an original composition.
After dessert and a quick breather to digest, the guests were ready to party. Now it was time for the Brookes Big Band – conducted by Louise Unsworth and compered by Peter Scrivener. With people jiving in the aisles, it was as if we’d been transported back to an wartime dance. The First Floor’s director, Abdul Shorkar, looking on proudly, commented to me that his only regret of the night was not creating more dancing space.
Luke MacKay, President of the Oxford Brookes Jazz Society, briefly introduced each song, engaging with the crowd and, again, helping to eliminate the alienation of those with lesser jazz knowledge. Classics such as ‘The Charleston’ were mixed with more modern songs like ‘Zoot Suit Riot’ and 1960s hit ‘Mercy Mercy Mercy’ – a great mix of old and new jazz, soulful solos and brilliant big band pieces from a group of students who are clearly very talented. Their passion was evident, and produced good vibes and elevated performances.
It was fantastic to do something different to the usual gig night. The black tie theme allowed everybody to get immersed in the glitz and glamour of jazz, with all of the contradictory sophistication and fun that you’d expect.