Various jazz groups came together under the Dore Theater on March 1 to play at the Cal State Bakersfield Jazz Coffee House.
This jazz coffee house was the second event held by the music department at CSUB.
Throughout the evening, groups of musicians and vocalists performed various pieces they have been working on throughout the quarter at CSUB.
In charge of the performance was Jim Scully, a fifth-year lecturer at CSUB for the music department.
He attended CSUB, where he received his bachelor’s in Fine Arts and continued to UC Irvine, where he received an MFA in music with an emphasis on jazz composition.
Scully, who currently teaches music theory, jazz studies and music technology, also took the stage with some of his students.
Scully knows that every student has unique needs.
Overall, he says that he wants to develop well-rounded professional musicians.
Another group that performed that night was the CSUB Jazz Singers, lead by Peggy Sears. Sears has been with the Jazz Singers for about fourteen years. Unlike the other performers, these students make music with their voices.
One of the many vocal styles these students performed was scat, which is known as a way to improvise nonsense syllables with an instrumental accompaniment.
“That was awesome, the way she was singing, and I bet it isn’t easy either,” said Dorothy Lugo, 23, who attended the performance.
The night concluded with performances from individual students presenting pieces they themselves had composed. Some of the students that performed were Greg Kalar and Eddie Ziegler.
Doug Davis, chairman of the music department at CSUB, also lent a hand for that night’s event.
Davis attended the University of Tennessee as well as Harvard University.
Davis seemed very pleased with the students at CSUB and refers to them as “a gifted, lively group.”