The Attraction of Jazz

Does music turn you on? Is jazz sexy? Do musicians really always get the girl?

All are questions that might be answered by a recent study conducted by Benjamin D. Charlton at the University of Sussex. The study found that heterosexual women were more attracted to men who had the ability to play music well. The more complex the tune, the more women were attracted—and jazz certainly is a complex style of music in its construction and make up.

Some studies show that music can release the same chemicals in the brain that are released when a person is aroused. So, if the music is good enough, it can literally put people in the mood.

“I say it’s more about how it invokes a feeling in the soul, more than an attractive factor,” Keith Strickland, 21, music education major and trumpeter for the NIC Jazz Ensemble, Post Falls, said.  “The most attractive person could play and sing, but if they don’t cause a feeling in your soul then it’s just not the same.”

Many ears were satisfied last Tuesday night at the Jazz Ensemble’s “JazzNIC” concert located in the Schuler Performing Arts Center of Boswell Hall.

Hot solos, cool grooves and wild vibes were only a few features of the concert that wrapped up a three day jazz festival held in Boswell Hall.

The festival brought out several different high schools from all over the region to take part in clinics hosted by guest artists and music professors Dan Buckvich and Al Gemberling of the University of Idaho, as well as Gary Gemberling of Whitman College.

NIC Band Director Terry Jones explained the focus of the festival was the clinics where local high school jazz bands played their best for the three experienced musicians.

“Clinics are all about getting the student to understand jazz better which results in playing better,” Jones said. “Jazz offers students a chance to express themselves while connecting with other players through the music.”

After learning new techniques and hearing feedback from the three guest musicians, the concert was the event to top off the clinics, Jones said.

Showing a balance between upbeat and slow songs, the concert featured several soloists within the group as well as solos from the guest artists.

Buckvich and the Gemberling brothers were very much the entertainers – especially the multi-talented, horn-playing brothers – as they pulled all sorts of stunts throughout the concert. These stunts included bringing out a traffic cone to the stage instead of a trombone, taking over the band and replacing Jones as director, playing two trumpets at once, playing the trombone with their legs and offering audience members lap dances.

“[The Gemberling brothers and Buckvich] raise the bar and because of their abilities help all those around them play better – you can’t help but have fun,” Jones said. “They are proof that you can perform at a very high level and have a great time doing it.”

One of the highlights of the concert was a vocal solo by Gembering. He sang the jazz standard “Smack Dab in the Middle,” a song that describes the desires of man: riches and women.

Although hot tunes were played throughout the concert, the final number of the night left many audience members with a smile.

Buckvich, a talented percussionist, included the audience in the silliness by creating music using egg shakers found around the auditorium. The Gemberling brothers joined him by having the audience imitate bike horns. All of the differing sounds came together to make interesting and innovative music.

The concert was definitely a treat for eyes and ears as the music was smooth and the guest artists provided a unique entertainment factor different from other NIC music concerts.

No matter how attracted the audience was to the music or even the musicians themselves, trumpeter Strickland explained the jazz concert was about what’s in the heart of the musician.

“It doesn’t matter what you look like or how you play music, jazz is about the story that is inside of you trying to get out.”

All photos taken by Lily Anderson/Sentinel