Student musicians take jazz to COD’s main stage

College of DuPage music professor Tom Tallman said he wanted to give his students an opportunity to be up on the main stage at the college’s McAninch Arts Center.

On Friday night, the spotlight will be on the 21 students in his small group jazz class during the college’s 15th annual Student Jazz Showcase.

“Students get precious little opportunity to play in that hall,” Tallman said. “This is one way I hope we can guarantee they play in the big room.”

Three bands each will perform a set of music that students have arranged or composed during the 16-week course.

Many performers are in their late teens and early 20s. Others have returned to school to pursue a musical beat still in their hearts.

Aaron Newman, 44, has been performing with the college’s small jazz ensembles and big band for four years. He played in various ensembles around Madison and Chicago after graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in trumpet performance in 1990.

“I like playing in these groups because they serve as both a podium for passing on the knowledge of American music to young people and as a sort of refugee camp for people like myself, who don’t play professionally anymore but still need an avenue for musical expression,” Newman said.

He will be performing an arrangement of the song “Delilah,” written by Victor Young for the movie “Sampson and Delilah.”

“The musical interaction between those not out of their teens and those north of 40 is what makes the music sound as good as it does,” Tallman said.

Students in Tallman’s class have varying levels of experience. Those who have only been playing an instrument for five years may not know how to transcribe a solo, for example, but that’s something they can learn, Tallman said.

He added that small group jazz might be easier for those newer to music to grasp, as opposed to big band.

And not everyone in the class is pursuing a degree in music.

“Some folks go from their rehearsal to an HVAC class down the hall,” Tallman said.

Friday’s performance will feature the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim (“Wave”), Lee Morgan (“Sidewinder”), Cedar Walton (“Firm Roots”), Lil Hardin Armstrong (“Jazz Lips”) and Wayne Shorter (“Tom Thumb”).

Tickets are $4. For information, call the box office at (630) 942-4000 or visit atthemac.org.