It don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing at the annual Jazzy Dreiser Jazz fest.
"What is Jazz fest? I would say the spirit of community mixed with live performances and like just happiness," Vice President of Dreiser Hall Council, Ashneel Raj, said. "Springtime vibes that’s Jazz Fest."
Celebrating those springtime vibes is a fairly new tradition at the Dreiser Crib.
"There was an RA called Matt Hannigan, and he was like the most amazing human being ever, and like two or three years ago he started this and he was like ‘hey who wants to play jazz and ever since then we’ve been keeping his legacy alive," Raj said.
Since then, lots of cool cats have been jammin' here at the most happening spot on campus. Fellas like the guitarist, Alex McGuiness. You’ve probably seen him around. His handlebar mustache is kinda hard to miss.
"This is a little piece of me," McGuiness, a senior at Stony Brook University, said. "Takes about 10 minutes per morning to wax up. It’s a labor of love. It has its good days and its bad days. This is a good day in general, so I’m happy"
But there’s another piece of him that he like’s even more, and that’s music.
"People say that jazz is defined by its improvisational aspects, so I like the freedom in Jazz being able to make whatever statement I want to artistically, he said. "The whole time you’re making your artistic statement right in front of people live and that’s what I love about it."
The biochemistry major first learned how to chop cords back in high school, 10 years ago. His old band, The Troubled Cleffs, even joined him on the terrace stage Thursday night.
"We don’t have a chance to play too often, so when we do get to play on stages like this, it’s just like we’re back," he said. "This is right. We’re in the moment. This is good. We’re graduating seniors. This isn’t going to last forever, so let’s just have fun with it.
Why isn’t it going to last forever? That’s because after graduating next month, he’s headed off to dental school. But music will always be a part of his life.
"Maybe I’ll start a new band with people nearby me," McGuiness said. "Maybe I’ll find other musical dentists. I do want to have a waiting room with a guitar, and acoustic guitar, and a sign that says play whatever you want and I guess I’ll pay my secretary extra not to complain when people come in and play whatever they want."
So don’t forget to look him up in a couple of years because that’s a dentist visit you won’t want to miss.
