Renewed culture helps jazz popularity rise in Knoxville

BY MEGAN LANGE, CONTRIBUTOR
Published: Tue Nov 12, 2013
Fifteen years ago, it would not have been out of place to walk through the Old City and hear strains of jazz music floating from Lucille's Jazz Club.

Those days might be long gone, but when it comes Knoxville, finding that laid-back beat or swinging French horn is easier than you might think.

Whether it is gypsy-jazz, old standards, modern tunes with a jazz treatment or big band, jazz music is on the rise in Knoxville.

Katy Free, jazz vocalist and graduate student in musicology, said she thinks the current environment has played a large part in the rising popularity of the genre.

"I think that most things come and go in waves," Free said. "People often talk about jazz and blues as a reaction to difficulty, so there's an argument, I think, for the recent issues we've been having in America."

That isn't the only reason jazz is on the rise, however. Jake Smith, guitarist and senior in studio art and jazz, said he believes jazz is finally becoming visible to a younger audience.

"I don't think jazz has ever lost popularity," Smith said. "We just live in a place where it goes unnoticed to younger generations, but that seems to be changing.

"Jazz is becoming more accessible, and people are realizing what amazing musicians we have hidden in this town."

Sara Daniels, jazz flutist and senior in studio fine art with a concentration in 4D, agrees with Smith's notion.

"I think jazz has always been fairly popular, just not in this part of the country," Daniels said. "More people in this area seem to be taking an interest, because access to music like this has been opened up."

Local musicians attribute a great amount of the success jazz is seeing in Knoxville to Vance Thompson, professor of studio music and jazz at UT and founder of the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra.
Read more: http://utdailybeacon.com/arts-and-culture/2013/nov/12/renewed-culture-helps-jazz-popularity-rise-knoxvil/