A new group of jazz singers are putting a cool spin on Christmas music to get listeners tapping their toes to the beat this week.
The Foothills Philharmonic Jazz Society Chorus is hosting its inaugural Cool Yule and Classic Jazz Christmas concert featuring a combination of classic jazz standards and Christmas favourites with a jazzy edge at the Okotoks Alliance Church Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.
“The Christmas music we are doing is more swing-jazz infused,” said director Shawn Lindenbach. “Jazz music lends itself to the spirit and overall happiness of the season. It gives you that extra tap-your-foot, feel-good feeling.”
The chorus will perform songs from the classic 1954 movie White Christmas, as well as classic jazz standards like Georgia On My Mind – offering a variety of upbeat jazz tunes that are both popular and accessible, said Lindenbach.
The philharmonic jazz chorus formed last summer and consists of members from the Foothills Philharmonic Chorus.
“We were looking for something a little bit different,” said Lindenbach. “The Foothills Philharmonic is a classic group that wants to sing in that genre. Some people wanted to branch out.”
The singers in the semi-professional singing group range in age from their teens to middle-age, he said.
Lindenbach said the jazz chorus can consist of a maximum of four sopranos, four altos, four tenors and four bass singers, capping the group at 16 members. As a result a six-member women’s jazz chorus also formed.
“I want to keep everyone involved, but it’s hard when you have 16 members and more people interested,” he said. “You don’t want to get too busy, otherwise it’s hard to keep everything tight and together.”
The Alberta High School of Fine Arts graduate said he doesn’t recall there ever being so many opportunities to sing in Okotoks in such a variety of genres as there is now.
“When I was younger, there wasn’t much musical choir or bands,” he said. “It’s really starting to take off.”
Christmas concerts throughout November and December offer a wide variety of entertainment for the community, said Lindenbach.
“We all have our own little niche,” he said. “The Foothills Philharmonic is doing classic, the Big Rock Singers are more of a show choir and we stick to more mainstream jazz music. There’s a wide variety and something for everybody.”
What sets the jazz concert apart from others is the feel it brings to the audience, said Lindenbach.
“You can really get into it,” he said. “It’s not hard to bob your head and tap your toes to that. It’s very intimate music. It’s very much self expression.”
Lindenbach brings his own level of expertise as a musician. He recently graduated from the University of Lethbridge with a bachelor of music degree in trumpet performance.
He plans to obtain a masters degree in conducting at the University of Calgary soon.
“I did a lot of conducting in Lethbridge with the choir and wind orchestra and I played with the symphony,” he said.
Tickets to see the Philharmonic Jazz Chorus’ performance of Cool Yule and Jazz Classic cost $10 and can be purchased at foothillsphilharmonic.com or by contacting Shawn Lindenbach at [email protected]
