Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College's Jackson County Campus instructors Joely Corban and Daniel G. Driskell will perform a one-hour recital featuring jazz music in the campus Fine Arts Auditorium, November 12, at 7 p.m. The jazz duo, known as The Bouquets, will be joined by Gulf Coast student, Chase Rockwell.
“We are a jazz duo that have come together to inspire and educate people through jazz music,” said Corban, who is a music teacher at the college. “We enjoy playing weddings, private receptions and academic recitals. When we play educational recitals, we enjoy inviting students to jam with us. On occasion, we also include different professional musicians.”
Corban said the group’s goal is to educate the public about jazz. “It is the only 100 percent pure American art form,” she said. “Art Blakey has been quoted as saying, ‘No America, no jazz,” and that’s true. I've seen people try to connect it to other countries but it doesn't work.”
She added that jazz has, from its early 20th century inception, spawned a variety of sub-genres: New Orleans Dixieland from the early 1910s, big band-style swing from the 1930s and 1940s, bebop from the mid-1940s, a variety of Latin jazz fusions such as Afro-Cuban and Brazilian jazz from the 1950s and 1960s, jazz-rock fusion from the 1970s and late 1980s developments such as acid jazz, which blended jazz influences into funk and hip-hop. “The Bouquets strive to play tunes selected from each of the recognized genres for educational and entertainment purposes, so it will be a great show.”
The recital is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Corban at 228-497-7890, joely.corban@mgccc.edu.
