Born in New Orleans in the 1900s, jazz music blends blues, ragtime and European harmonies together, melding different communities’ sounds together. Since the booming era in the 1920s, jazz has grown and evolved into an art that impacts many in the world, even individuals at SCHS.
Over the years, a jazz community has been fostered locally. Custodian Bob Neatheroy mentioned, however, how the jazz community has faded since the 1990s.
“At that time, it was kind of a heyday because there were a lot of clubs to play at. Bars, clubs all over the Bay Area, even San Francisco. Pretty much everywhere. A lot of those clubs aren’t there anymore,” Neatheroy said.
Despite some noticing a fade in the jazz community, many would argue that there is still a lot of local action. ASL teacher Talia Orsetti-Ng noted that there are various jazz programs and festivals around the Bay Area.
“I know there’s a huge Stanford jazz clinic,” Orsetti-Ng said. “My dad, one of his hobbies in retirement is photographing jazz musicians. He’ll go to different festivals like Monterey Jazz Festival, and San Jose has a jazz festival.”
Local schools also foster jazz communities and expression through music to keep the art alive. Freshman Levi Schofield got into jazz because of the San Jose Jazz Camp hosted at Wilcox High School. Already playing double bass in middle school, he was introduced to electric bass and a whole new style of jazz.
“Last year, I decided to enroll in a jazz camp, which was being taught by my middle school music teacher. It really was a great experience. It got me really interested in all that,” Schofield said. “Now, I’m trying to bring that more into my life.”
Thanks to the festivals, shows and clinics in the Bay Area, SCHS has cultivated a small jazz community. Schofield mentioned, however, that the community still has a lot of potential growth.
“I think especially because of the music program here, you get to see a lot of that, but I wouldn’t say it’s especially large here,” Schofield said. “It’s definitely bigger in some other areas. I know there’s lots of places in other states like Louisiana that are huge (on jazz).”
Senior Makani Fernandez believes part of the reason the SCHS jazz community is so small is because not many people understand jazz and its structure.
“I don’t know how true it is now, but a lot of music kids or the music community thought that jazz was not inappropriate but weird because orchestra and band usually plays by the note, or by what they read,” Fernandez said.
Passion for jazz can also be found outside of music programs. Starting playing the drums in middle school, Neatheroy has been involved in music for many years, which has opened him up to the various styles. He has meddled in many genres, but he discovered jazz through trumpeter Miles Davis, known for playing bebop, a jazz style that emerged in the 1940s.
“Bebop is super fast, super technical, extreme chops, and just to make a long story short, he’s a genius who’s known for always being at the cutting edge. While he loved to play his beautiful jazz ballads, he’d leave them behind because he already did it,” Neatheroy said. “That was very inspiring to me, someone like him. So from there, I got into lots of different kinds of jazz. Just something about Miles and what he does.”
The existing jazz community on and off SCHS campus has also grown over the last few years due to the introduction of new jazz centered media. Fernandez believes that the 2020 emergence of Icelandic singer songwriter Laufey helped boost the jazz community by incorporating the style in her music, as well as movies centering around music.
“I always liked jazz, but it wasn’t until covid year, or whenever Laufey got popular, where I started to explore it more. Also consuming media,” Fernandez said. “Like I said, Laufey and movies like ‘Whiplash,’ where jazz is the main focus.”
Despite the current semi-popularity of jazz, Schofield expressed his observation on the back and forth approval society has had on the jazz community.
“It was popular a long time ago, and then it started to go away, and now it’s coming back again. I’m seeing lots of that,” Schofield said. “With the other students in the music program, there’s lots of people who are interested in starting a jazz band this year. It might just be that people are starting to think it’s cool again.”
Orsetti-Ng, however, never sees jazz becoming more popular or mainstream even with the emergence and possibilities through different mediums.
“I feel like it’s still very niche. I wish that it would become more popular. I think that as a cappella gets more popular, I think there’s an opportunity there for jazz a cappella to really kind of bring jazz more into the forefront,” Orsetti-Ng said. “But I don’t really see it becoming mainstream. I think it’s always going to be kind of an acquired taste.”
Junior Tenzil Remedios expressed how difficult it can be to get introduced to the jazz community, despite its strong roots in the Bay Area and how the flexibility of the music makes it accessible once one is introduced.
“I don’t hear many people talking about jazz. I feel like you have to be pulled into that world by someone or by randomly listening to something that’s jazz,” Remedios said. “If you want to play something really fun, if you want to listen to something fun, then there’s always jazz. It’s very malleable. That’s my best description of jazz. It’s malleable.”
The future of the jazz community is rocky, but listeners and musicians around campus are cautiously optimistic. Remedios feels the jazz community has the potential to reach new heights and it requires exposure for current non-enjoyers.
“I feel like if you don’t like jazz, you could still appreciate it. You could appreciate the skill behind it. With what I’ve seen, I only know certain people who play jazz, and I feel like there is a cut off point,” Remedios said. “There’s a social wall with that. It’s not like restricting people from coming in and out of the jazz world, but you can tell when someone’s been into the jazz world, that they had that experience.”
Orsetti-Ng expressed hesitation regarding a jazz comeback, explaining the diversity of jazz culture can intimidate newcomers. She noted that many individuals attempting to engage with jazz encounter a surface-level understanding of its culture and genre.
“I think one of the reasons people may be turned off by jazz is because they think of one certain type. Whereas, I think if you were to try to motivate people to get into jazz, you have to open the floodgates,” Orsetti-Ng said. “Going to those festivals that you can find on social media. If you just Google jazz festivals, getting exposed to the different kinds of jazz can really open up people’s hearts.”