Gettin’ jazzy with it all night long at Jazz House

If you haven’t noticed, Bwog is really interested in the whole new SIC this year. We wanted to know just what made the Jazz House a key above all the rest of the applicants to be chosen for next year’s new SIC; a smooth jazz Bwogger reached out to the group’s housing coordinator, Ben Rosenblum, to see what put them miles Davis ahead of the rest.

Is this a brand new group, or housing for a previously existing jazz group at Columbia?

Jazz House is completely new as a formal group on campus. Jazz musicians at Columbia have always enjoyed a tight-knit community, and different members of our group have performed together and taken part in planning the kinds of events that we are going to be planning starting in the Fall. However, we’ve never had any kind of “pre-professional group” on campus before.

What is the goal of the new SIC? 

The goal is really to make jazz a presence at Columbia. This means introducing the community to jazz, and also giving the community ample opportunity to hear performances, learn about its history and participate in our events. Students throughout the Columbia community are welcome to stop by our SIC at any time, and any one of us would be happy to explain how jazz is structured and what it is like performing it. In addition, having a living space together allows us to learn from each other and collaborate on projects. All of the musicians in the SIC are super talented and friendly people who love sharing theirs ideas, and it is going to be really exciting seeing what they bring to the community.

How do you see daily life in this new community?

I expect to learn every day from the other members of the community. We are going to try to set up an informal space in the house to jam, listen to music and plan events as a group, so I foresee a great deal of camaraderie and enthusiasm built around music and our opportunities to share it with Columbia.

Will there be concerts or opportunities for us to hear your music?

There will absolutely be concerts and other opportunities to hear us! We want to make ourselves as visible and known to the Columbia community as possible, and so we are going to have regular performances by members of our group (and members of the larger jazz community at Columbia), as well as dinner and jazz events, guest performances, interviews, lectures and much more. Ideally, we will also set up a space on a regular basis where we can conduct informal jams that everyone can participate in, and develop a reputation as a place to go on campus. As the Fall semester kicks in next school year, you will definitely be hearing more from us and what we have to offer.

Turn down the damn music you kids via Shutterstock