Ever wonder about Jazz music? Local musicians help help unravel the mysteries of Jazz.

WINTER GARDEN Every Sunday evening, local Jazz musicians come out to Pilars Martini for a jam session. 

They take turns playing on the piano, double bass, drums any other instrument that gets carted in. It’s reminiscent of the old-school jam sessions that took place back the mid-1900s. 

But the fun of jazz is in the music itself.

“You have to be bitten by the bug,” said Joe Breidenstine, a professional trumpet player from Philadelphia who was the featured jazz musician at Pilars last weekend.

Known as the only true American art form, the key to jazz is improvisation, said Chris Rottmayer, a jazz pianist who started the Sunday Jazz Jam sessions at Pilars last year. 

“It’s this improvisation that is the jazz content,” Rottmayer said. “When you’re improvising, you’re depending on the support of the other people. It’s a real team thing. The deeper everyone listens to each other, the more nuanced the music is.”

Understanding Jazz

While the musicians jam, it may be challenging to understand the musical process for jazz novices listening in the audience. But generally, each song revolves around a line of melody.

In the beginning, all the band members play together until they have played through the entire melody - or head - of the song. Then one-by-one, the members take turns soloing, each improvising a new melodic line based on the original piece.

The order of soloists can either be pre-arranged or completely off-the-cuff, Rottmayer said. But if it’s spontaneous, musicians have to listen carefully to each other to prevent simultaneous soloing.

“Even with the same group, the same song can sound different every night,” said double bass player Charlie Silva.

And listening to jazz live makes the music more interesting, Rottmayer said.

“Not everyone knows about jazz, but I think everyone can identify with it and enjoy it,” he said. “You’d be surprised the energy that’s there.”

A Home for Jazz

In September 2015, Rottmayer and his fellow jazz musician Per Danielsson approached Pilars with the idea of creating a weekly Jazz Jam session. The goal was to create an environment where area jazz students could play alongside of professional jazz musicians. 

“Jazz has been forever been learned in a mentor relationship on the bandstand, but that doesn’t really exist anymore,” Rottmayer said. “Now the teaching of jazz has moved into the university setting, but it’s a little too academic. It becomes performance ensembles where (the music) is really worked out. It doesn’t have the energy of performing in front of people.”

And jamming with pros is one of the best ways to learn the tricky art form, Breidenstine said.

“It’s very difficult to master,” he said. 

Now, every Sunday, college students and local community members take turns jamming with the band. Some Sundays more than 20 people sign up to join the jam session.

“It’s a very cool event,” said Becky Roper, owner of Pilars. “It’s a community-driven jazz event, and it’s really interesting to watch.”

For the musicians, Pilars has become the new Jazz hub in West Orange county.

“It’s our home away from home,” Silva said. “We feel so welcome here; it feels like family.”

Contact Brittany Gaines at [email protected].