Whistlin Dixie to All that Jazz

On February 15th, at 7pm in Shafer Auditorium at Eastern Connecticut State University, the U.S. Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band will hold a free concert as part of ECSU's Arts and Lecture Series.

The United States Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band was organized in 1970 to perform classic jazz, blues, and rags with a “New Orleans” flavor. The Dixieland Jazz Band has entertained audiences across America, in the former Soviet Union and in England. Notable venues include the open-air theater in Disney World, the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, at the “Galaxy Jazz Festival” in Milwaukee, the Embarcadero in San Francisco, the John F. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage in Washington, D.C., and at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The five member group has also performed on numerous radio and television broadcasts across the nation.

Jazz can be described generally as music rooted in improvisation and characterized by syncopated rhythm, a steady beat, and unique tone colors and performance techniques. Although the term jazz became current in 1917, the music itself was probably heard as early as 1900. We do not know exactly when jazz started or how it sounded at first, because this new music existed only in performance, not musical notation. Very little jazz was captured on recording before 1923, and none at all before the Original Dixieland Jazz Band recorded in 1917.

Since its beginnings, jazz has developed a rich variety of sub-styles such as New Orleans style (including Dixieland), swing, bebop, cool, free jazz, and jazz rock. It has produced such outstanding figures as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis. Its impact has been enormous and worldwide, affecting not only many kinds of popular music, but the music of such composers as Maurice Ravel, Darius Milhaud, George Gershwin, and Aaron Copland.

I, myself, have attended performances from this ensemble in the past and will tell you that it's a concert worth attending. Although I am not the biggest jazz fan in the world, Dixieland jazz is such a treat you cannot help tapping your foot along. I highly recommend anyone who can to see this performance.

Again,

U.S. Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band

7pm

Shafer Auditorium at Eastern Connecticut State University 

83 Windham St, Willimantic CT 06226 (see map here)

Admission is free, but seats are limited. 

Please call (860)465-0036 or email tickets@easternct.edu  for more information.