Grab your saxophones and fedoras because Ogden City’s Jazz at the Station is geared up to entertain. Jazz at the Station is a reoccurring event that takes place on the second Wednesday of each month.
On Sept. 14, local jazz musicians played live music to the public at Ogden’s Union Station for free to showcase their talents.
Wednesday’s concert featured the Mark Chaney Trio, a local band consisting of members well-versed in world of jazz.
“I’ve known [the other members of The Mark Chaney Trio] for 25 years now,” said Jim Stout, the group’s bassist. “Mark plays drums and sings, and we add our guitars in.”
Around 68 people gathered at Union Station Wednesday night for the concert.
“People are here to listen to some great jazz,” Stout said as he tuned up his bass guitar.
When the band began its first song of the night, two people in the crowd got up and started swing dancing off to the side of the stage, setting the mood.
Two of those fans were Annette Burrell and Merle Hildreth, avid lovers of jazz.
“I came to three of the jazz shows last year and came back because they’re so great,” Burrell said, “I invited [Hildreth] because he likes this music too.”
Hildreth expressed that more college students should be interested in jazz music.
“I think [college students] interested in music should know of the variety that’s out there,” Hildreth said. “I grew up listening to western and jazz. This kind of stuff has always appealed to me.”
The crowd at the event varied with some attending as families, friends and fans, ranging in age from toddlers to seniors in their 90s.
Previous featured artists include professional jazz musician Joe McQueen, pianist and singer Kate Skinner and Daniel Jonas, assistant professor at Weber State University.
Jazz at the Station will also feature Weber State’s own Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz Combo several times a year. October and November’s concerts will feature members of WSU’s jazz program.
According to their Facebook page, “Jazz at the Station was started in order to offer WSU students under the age of 21 an opportunity to see live jazz performances in a no-alcohol, local environment … It rapidly came to the attention of an all-ages audience and often plays to standing-room-only crowds.”
Jazz at the Station is among the wide array of free events offered to the public by the Union Station. For more information on events, visit their website.
