Breezy Spring Evenings, Inspiring Art, and 2 Hours of Live Jazz: A Great Combination

On Thursday, April 30th, 2009 the OSU Urban Arts Space had their routine Thursday night “Marotta Hour” series program, but there was nothing routine about this Jazz Quartet’s performance. For 2 hours Columbus, OH transformed in my mind into New York City. As I listened to this sultry, steamy, and spicy live jazz I closed my eyes and could easily pretend that I was in a small crowded jazz bar close to central park late at night with an old friend. The performers: Cayce Felber (keyboard), Bradley Mellen (base), Ryan Jewell (percussion), and Evan Oberla (sax) played their tunes in the lower gallery close to the sculptural installation works of MFA student’s Justin Braun, Willard Tucker, and Talia Shabtay.

Urban Arts Space had never felt more like an urban environment than it did during those 2 hours of humming sax’s keyboard chords and strokes of the bass. The artwork from the MFA Student complemented the live jazz well. Behind me was a plane covered in psychedelic wallpaper (Braun’s work “Yes Please” of 2009) protruding out of the gallery wall towards the performers as if it was watching the performance with me and swaying gently above me was the outside urban city version of hanging jeweled chandeliers in the form of Styrofoam drills (Tucker’s work “Landing” of 2009). I could look outside through the lower galleries windows to see sunshine women in their summer dresses passing by. Behind the performers two paintings by Talia Shabtay graced the walls entitled “Pleasure” and “Pleasure With You,” both of 2009. The bass player took a long solo during a Thelonious Monk medley. It was so nice to see him smile and nod his head as his fingers moved up and down the massive instrument passionately, while the rest of the ensemble tapped their feet and shook their head in enjoyment to the rhythms that were being created. I could not help but see the words “Pleasure With You” written out on the canvas on Talia’s work entitled of the same name poking out from behind the bass player and thinking that this is how he must feel about his instrument: how it is a great pleasure that he can pick it up and improvise and make beautiful low, smooth sounds with it that make audiences dance in their seats.

The musicians were all very talented and played a wide array of jazz standards, but I knew it was romance when the ensemble played portions of songs from two of my favorite jazz musicians in the same few minutes: Miles Davis and Antonio Carlos Jobin. I left work that day happy and satisfied: giddy from my “romantic date with Jazz music” in my “own New York City located right at 50 West Town Street, Columbus Ohio.”

Look out for future performances by this ensemble here at the OSU Urban Arts Space on Thursday evenings to come. I can assure you, you will be glad you attended.

Joanna Emily Reed, OSU Urban Arts Space Student Assistant

Photo Credits: Top Photo: Google Images, Middle Photo: Bradley Mellen (Left) and Cayce Felber (Right) of the Jazz Ensemble, Bottom Photo: Talia Shabtay's "Pleasure With You."