<bt>For James Carroll, director of the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, it's easy to understand the appeal of jazz.
"Jazz brings people together," said Carroll, who is also the director of jazz studies at George Mason University (GMU). "I really believe that the music department here represents George Mason, and this place is taking off. Now you're starting to see these pockets of depth and quality that are good. And I think this band represents that."
Carroll's first association with jazz came at Indiana University’s School of Music, where he studied under celebrated jazz-trombonist David Baker. "I played in his band," Carroll said. "I didn't have a jazz degree. I took all of his classes."
Eventually, Carroll earned his B.M. in saxophone performance and M.M. in woodwinds and jazz. He went on to perform at Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, The White House, Yokohama Stadium, The Kennedy Center, Royal Albert Hall and the Apollo Theatre. Among the artists that he performed with were Michael Jackson, Nancy Wilson, Maynard Ferguson, Billy Taylor, Zoot Sims, Keter Betts, The Columbus Symphony, The Indianapolis Symphony, The Indiana Saxophone Quartet, and Woody Herman and His Thundering Herd. Carroll was drawn to the Washington, D.C., area by the formation of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.
"David [Baker] was the co-conductor with Gunther Schuler," Carroll said. "The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra was started when [Congress] passed a resolution declaring jazz a national treasure. They appropriated a small amount of money for the Smithsonian to start a jazz orchestra."
FOR THE PAST seven years, Carroll's daytime job has been as director of jazz studies at GMU's Fairfax campus. He introduced a jazz minor to the school's music program and is working on installing a master's in jazz program.
"I envisioned, as my master plan, I wanted to get an undergraduate in jazz studies [program] as soon as I could and then maybe move on to master's and do graduate," Carroll said. "And at some time in the future, I might have a professional jazz orchestra attached to the school."
The reality of Carroll's plan worked out somewhat backward.
"The first thing that happened was this band, the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra," he said. "It had always been a dream of mine to build a jazz program and to found it on what David [Baker] taught me, which was the music and the improvisational nature of the music. A big band is just a vehicle for improvisation. I got called by Rick Davis, who is the assistant director of the Center for the Arts. He said, 'Hey, who should we get in here for jazz?' I said, 'Look. I want to start our own band. We've got all the resources here and all the guys in town.' And he said, 'Go.' It started that just like that."
"There's a real hunger for big-band jazz," said Davis, about the origin of the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra. "There's not that much out there touring or resident ensembles. It's not an art form that's readily available. So when it does come around, they really respond to it."
From Carroll's perspective, the strength of the orchestra comes from the wealth of local talent that it brings together. "It really enlists the best musicians in the area," said Carroll. "A lot of these musicians are unknown to the general public. Charlie Young, for example, he teaches at Howard University. In my mind, Charlie is probably the greatest living alto-saxophonist and he lives here in Washington, D.C. He's very humble. He's toured with Basie and Ellington and teaches at Howard. He's an amazing saxophone player, but he doesn't have any commercial appeal."
"The thing that makes this band really cook is Jim's ability to find some of the best players in the area," Davis said. "I'm a play director, so I always say that casting is 80 percent of directing and I think that's true of the music world as well. It's who you hire. If you get great players, you're going to have a great band."
On Feb. 28, those great players will exercise their abilities locally, when the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra kicks off its third year with a performance at the GMU Center for the Arts. The show features a mix of jazz standards by Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Aaron Copland. In addition, vocalist Delores King Williams will sing "I'm Beginning to See the Light."
Following the 8 p.m. performance, a group of GMU music students will gather for an impromptu jam session in the third tier of the Center for the Arts. Twenty minutes into the set, they will be joined by the rhythm session of the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra.