The Collegian

Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: Arts

Some students packed up and left because they
couldn't study, but many more Hillsdale College students, faculty and staff were drawn to the smooth swinging tones of the jazz group the Polish Paddys in Mossey Library at 4 p.m. last Thursday.

History
The half-hour jazz concert kicked off the library's second annual celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month.

The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History launched Jazz Appreciation Month seven years ago in April to increase awareness of jazz as an original American art form.

The Polish Paddys was the first of four groups to perform each Thursday afternoons throughout the month of April.

The group consists of Lecturer in History Andrew Mitchell on piano, senior Jeff Myers on trombone, junior Andrew Dodson on saxophone, senior Aaron Johnson on bass and senior Jamie Cunningham on percussion.

Kick-off performance
The group began its set timidly, apparently uncomfortable with the aesthetic paradox of making music in a normally hush-hush environment.

But as the charismatic performance and energetic set progressed, the group grew accustomed to the superior acoustics of the venue.

As boldness increased, sound swelled and audience grew, and the small-but-growing-audience was full of broad smiles, gently bobbing heads and tapping toes.

Two female students remained in the vicinity, ostensibly to study, but kept popping their heads over the newspaper periodical shelf to catch a glimpse of the performers.

In keeping with the easy, breezy atmosphere of the performance, trombonist Myers stepped away from his music stand and pushed it down during Mitchell's piano solos to allow the audience a better view.

How the library got involved
Library Director Dan Knoch said the ensemble performance tradition just began last year, and credited Technical Service Librarian Martha Spicuzza with the idea.

Spicuzza said her inspiration to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month came from an American Libraries publication that recommended libraries somehow recognize the event.

"After reading that, I put two and two together, with [Technical Service Librarian Maureen McCourry's] connection with the jazz program," Spicuzza said.

McCourry's husband Chris McCourry is Director of Jazz Ensembles and he helps arrange and schedule the performances, Maureen McCourry said.

Last year the library scheduled performances at various times throughout the month, but this year Spicuzza said it seemed easier to schedule them all at 4 p.m. on Thursdays, because it works best with the various and conflicting performers' schedules.

For this year's first performance, she said, there were more students present than previously.

"It's a nice respite in the day," Knoch said, adding that he has not heard many objections from library patrons.

"Music is not noise," he said.

Spicuzza is the creative force behind many of the library's programs like Faculty After Hours and Jazz Appreciation Month.

Stay on the lookout for announcements of coffee events with new faculty.

See more music department photos by clicking on this link.

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