The Central School Arts and Humanities Center’s Ben Mount Theatre will be filled with blue notes and the sweet sounds of jazz
during the Jazz in the Arts concert, featuring the husband-and-wife duos of the Shengs and the Daigles.
“Our main focus is to raise awareness of jazz music in the community,” said Pat Daigle, event coordinator and wife of musician
Chester Daigle. “We’re seeing what we can do to help schools create programs to educate students on the jazz genre.”
Patrick Sheng, McNeese State University
director of jazz studies, said it is important for him to help preserve
the jazz tradition
in Louisiana, which is often considered the birthplace of the
genre.
“Improvisation is one of the key
features of jazz, and although improvisation is present in almost all
types of music, it
is often overlooked in traditional public education settings,” he
said. “Improvisation is one of the most creative forms of
music-making, which should be explored by all music students to
develop artistic and creative growth.”
Sheng will perform with his wife, trombonist Crystal Hayes. Among the tunes they will do are “A Night in Tunisia,” “Witch Hunt” and “Spain.”
“I look forward to the performance, because it is always a pleasure to perform with the Lake Area’s finest jazz musicians such as Chester Daigle, Jay Ecker, Jeff Simon, James ‘Dollar’ Bill
and Sylvia Hankin,” She
Admission to the concert — which is at 5 p.m. Sunday — will cost $10. Proceeds will benefit the Jazz in the Arts Foundation and the Chester Daigle scholarship. The $1,000 annual award is given to a high school student who plans to go into music or jazz
studies.