Abdeali Saherwala | Staff Writer
Featured Image: An enchanting blend of chaos and tranquility—unified by jazz. | Courtesy of Lorne Lofsky
The Lorne Lofsky Trio jazzed York students with a free concert on October 5 in the Martin Family Lounge in the Accolade East building. The students brought their lunches, laptops, work, and friends, as they listened to the melodic jazz pieces played by the trio.
“This was the first concert of our regular series. We call it ‘Jazz at Midday’,” explains Barry Elmes, a York professor who organized the event.
“We put them on for anybody, but primarily for music students. At times we have featured faculty, so students could get a chance to hear their instructors play. We also bring bands from off-campus—especially those that are on tour, but also a few groups from the United States as well.”
During the academic year, the music department organizes a few of its concerts for free. They are open to anyone who enjoys listening to local and upcoming musicians, or anyone who wishes to support York artists. However, they are also a teaching tool for professors and students, as a way to expose them to a variety of musical genres.
“We do about five to six of these concerts every school year. Their purpose is to enhance the student experience, and because it is open to anyone, it is quite casual. People can come on in and bring lunch and hangout in the lounge to hear some wonderful jazz,” Elmes says.
The Lorne Lofsky Trio opened this series’ season with smooth and melodic, yet speedy and hard-hitting rhythms.
They are composed of three music professors: Lorne Lofsky on guitar, Barry Romberg on drums, and Kieran Overs on bass. Both Lofsky and Romberg are jazz instructors at York, while Overs is an instructor at Humber College. This concert epitomizes the series’ goal—to educate their students about jazz and its powerful influence.
The concerts often demonstrate how jazz is not a linear style of music—while every song undoubtedly has a beginning and an end, sometimes, the riffs of the various instruments extend and enhance the song, giving it a different flavour with each performance.
The genre is all about give-and-take—when the guitarist is on a riff, all the other accompanying musicians follow and complement them. It’s an oxymoron of tumult and harmony meshed into a masterpiece. The individual is welcomed to an array of interpretations of the set, impacting their understanding of jazz as a whole—and the Trio conveys this to an astounding degree.
The Lorne Lofsky Trio’s performance for this year’s first concert of “Jazz at Midday” was an introduction concert for the Jazz program at York for freshmen.
“I thought it would be a nice way to open the series by having a couple of our own faculty instructors play for our students—particularly for first-year students, who are getting to know their way around the campus, and don’t even know half the faculty yet. It is also a way of connecting with them,” Elmes adds.
Throughout the year, Elmes and the music department will bring in more jazz bands and musicians for their series for both students and staff to enjoy. Students interested in checking out the events schedule can visit the School of the Arts, Media, Performance, and Design website.
The next time you’re stuck on campus, perhaps you can drop by with your assignments, notes, lunch, and an appetite for some smooth jazz.
