Snowmass reinvigorates local jazz

Cancel your Friday-night plans — there’s jazz in town. 

“Kat Ellis Quartet,” playing classical jazz music, will perform 6:30 p.m. Friday at The Collective Snowmass as part of the Jazz Supper Club. The weekly jazz performance series brings local musicians to the stage and unites jazz genres from around the world until mid-March. The club began in January. 

“Jazz is a form of expression,” said Josefina Méndez, a local jazz musician who hosts the series. “When you improvise in jazz it’s almost like you’re creating on the spot.”

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The event includes beverages for purchase and food from Mawita, Latin Inspired Cuisine & Bar. Patrons must be 21 or older to attend. Méndez has invited artists to perform jazz genres from around the world, including Brazilian, Tango, Afro-Cuban, Latin, Gypsy, and a blend of North and South American.

“It’s a world sound,” she said. “It has its own little branches.”

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“Gonzalo Teppa Quartet,” playing Latin jazz, will perform on March 7, and “Walter Gorra Trio,” playing Afro-Cuban jazz, will play on March 14. 

The club reinvigorates a live jazz scene since Aspen jazz club Syzygy closed its doors over a decade ago, according to Senior Events Producer Shane Vetter, who reached out to Méndez to host the club. While Belly Up Aspen and Carbondale’s Steve’s Guitars give performing opportunities to rock ‘n roll, bluegrass and acoustic musicians, jazz is another story, Vetter said.

“What you don’t see is this genre of music getting its light of day,” he said.

But there is no lack of jazz talent in the valley. Aspen Music Festival and School, which trains young-adult musicians and hosts eight weeks of classical music events every summer, attracts renowned teachers and students from all over the world, according to Vetter. The Jazz Supper Club at Snowmass gives them an outlet to perform.

“It’s really cool seeing all these players that are about to become professionals in the industry come through here,” he said. “The instructors are world class, and some of the most brilliant musicians within their genre and they’re teaching these proteges all summer.”

Méndez also invites musicians from around the state. 

The events are made possible through a collaborative effort between the town of Snowmass, the Jazz Supper Club, and Méndez. The shift toward jazz in Snowmass began last summer when the town organized a summer jazz series Sunday nights on the event lawn by the Village Express.

“I get this comment all the time: ‘I had no idea we had players like that that were local,'” Vetter said of the community response to the new music scene.

This coming summer they plan to continue to uplift the genre throughout the Snowmass community, possibly looking to host musicians on the patio outside The Collective, according to Vetter. 

But for Méndez, jazz transcends performing. From Buenos Aires, Argentina, she has played jazz since she was 15 years old. 

“I just grew up with it,” she said. “It’s my father’s legacy, and I was always very passionate when I listened to it. (It’s) sophisticated.”

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.