By Frederick Churchville
Jazz Mondays, a new weekly program being sponsored by the Northeastern Chapter of the Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association (MEISA), drew dozens of students to afterHOURS Monday.
Clara Rice, president of MEISA, said they are sponsoring the show in an attempt to bring a more diverse musical scene to the venue.
“This is the first time we’ve done something like this,” she said.
The performance included alto jazz saxophonist John Radosta, a junior music business major, with Sean Faurias on bass, Steve Enright on piano and Dave Fox on drums.
Radosta said it was necessary to diversify afterHOURS’ live music offerings.
“Music is music, but you’ve got to diversify. If you’re playing just rock, or playing just hip hop or playing just jazz, that’s no good,” he said. “That’s the great thing about Boston, they have all different kinds of music. I think afterHOURS should definitely diversify.”
Radosta said he has been a regular at venues like Bob’s Southern Bistro, Matt Murphy’s and the Reel Bar, and has played with the likes of Rebecca Paris, John Blackwell, Ben Cook and Darren Rahn. He recently released his four song album, Rude Awakening, on iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster.
Jazz Mondays are aimed toward a more specific crowd, Radosta said.
“It’s definitely a different demographic,” he said. “Everybody who comes, their only interest is listening to jazz.”
Radosta and his bandmates played a variety of jazz compilations, paying tribute to jazz legends like Miles Davis and Chick Correa, with the tunes “Joshua” and “Humpty Dumpty.”
The quartet also played original works by Radosta, including “Honesty” and “The Grind,” a tune he said he wrote the previous day.
MEISA decided to dedicate an entire series to jazz after students complained that afterHOURS focused too much on the indie rock scene, Rice said.
Paul Sipio, a freshman music industry and music technology major, said afterHOURS was a good venue for this kind of performance.
“[AfterHOURS] is a very jazzy atmosphere,” he said. “You can sit down, drink a cup of coffee and talk.”
Sipio said this was different from afterHOURS’ usual indie music scene, where he said it is difficult to enjoy conversation along with the music.
Emmett Price, an assistant professor in the music department, said it’s important to have jazz music on campus.
“Jazz has served as a foundation and clearly an influence on lots of genres: rock, hip hop, etc., so I think it is important to reference jazz on a college campus,” he said. “[Showing desire for the program is] up to the students, faculty and staff. If folks show up on a Monday night, then it was a great idea. If not, then we have to figure out how to create awareness in a different way.”
Price said he looks forward to attending one of MEISA’s Jazz Mondays.
“Hopefully everything works hand in hand and jazz will survive on Northeastern’s campus on Monday nights,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out and see some of the acts myself.”
