Thursday night is my favorite night of the week! Why? Because that is the night that I join other musicians from all over the Central Coast in performing jazz in the Allan Hancock College Jazz Ensemble. Last Thursday night we learned that Hancock's Department of Fine Arts is canceling the Jazz Ensemble for Spring 2019 due to it "not meeting the department's allocated goal in the number of students," which according to the department should be equal in head count to the capacity of the room (approximately 60).
Have any of you ever heard of a jazz band with 60 members? The typical jazz band contains 17 to 20 players–the Hancock jazz band currently has 24. The chair of the department stated that the cancellation is also due to the class "not being a part of the core degree in music." As a past music professor, I strongly disagree with this decision. There is no other music ensemble that teaches students how to implement the concepts that they learn theoretically in their core music courses (scales, modes, chords, rhythm, form, improvisation, instrumentation, and style).
More than any other ensemble, jazz teaches students how to play independently; develop a fluency of professional musical vocabulary within their own artistic voice; imitate the sound and skills of famous musicians of the past through cognitive memorization and kinesthetic memory; focus on habits of self-discipline, communication, and teamwork while progressing in critical listening skills; and learning to accept constructive feedback.
With the additional incorporation of excellent musicians from the community, these students experience the joy of rewarding interaction with other musicians. I have personally witnessed students advancing in their musical skills each week. Hancock needs to seriously re-evaluate this very shortsighted decision to cancel the jazz ensemble. Such a decision will negatively affect music and non-music majors for years to come.
