View slideshow - Jazz in June 2009

I wandered up to Jazz Under the Stars on Friday night to an extreme sense of surprise. I had never been to a Jazz in June event before, and did not necessarily know what to expect. I knew there were going to be a decent number of jazz fans in attendance, but I was shocked by the sheer volume of people lying out across the parking lot of Brookhaven Square.

The evening was a very loose, relaxed affair. There was no sense of urgency — just a place where friends and families had gathered to talk and reminisce with the sweet sound of jazz providing a luscious soundtrack to their conversations.

A group of old college buddies would be gathered in a circle, knocking a few cold ones back while laughing and chattering away about the good old times.

A cluster of, let’s say, earthy friends would lie against the warm cement, while others would be swaying along with the barely-there breeze.

Then a young family would come into view, and after a little time, the young girl and mother would pop up and start to shake and shimmy along to the effortless music swirling behind them.

The musicians were all experts of their craft. The music twirled over the crowd, slipping and diving with ease. The piano would sound as fragile as a china shop, then transform immediately into the bull.

Horns would punch against the glass storefronts before ricocheting right back into the ears of the audience.

Every walk of life was present there: the young and old, the rich and poor, the preppy and hippies and the diehards and casual fans, all brought together by one thing. Jazz in June.

So as the natural, free flow of the jazz breezed through the air, I quickly I came to a conclusion: This is what Norman sounds like.

You see, there is something about jazz music that just perfectly meshes with the feel to our city.

We aren’t quite hip enough to have The Shins be the soundtrack to our city; country and bluegrass are just a little too unsophisticated to fit the profile as well.

We don’t bash our heads to metal music, and we aren’t quite stuffy enough to have classical as the music of choice. It has dawned on me that jazz fits our city like a glove.

Norman immediately evokes a sort of studious feel to me, but with sort of a more relaxed approach.

We Normanites crave the arts more than any town around us, and there is a friendly, casual vibe to the city. We are loose, free and just a little quirky.

All of these characteristics add up to just one conclusion: Jazz is the sound of our lovely city. Sure, New Orleans might do it best, but we do not seem to be far behind.

So with the phenomenal Jazz in June event going strong in its 26th year, I cannot help but feel this proclamation of mine will be cemented down even further.

And you know what, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Joshua Boydston is a

psychology sophomore.