Museum Now Hosting Weekly Jazz Every Thursday Evening

Last year, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art changed its hours to include being open late every Thursday night. It added Thursday-night programming like films and lectures and opened the café serving drinks and appetizers.

Starting last week, it started hosting jazz every Thursday for the after-hours patrons. The music starts at 4:45 and continues until the film or lecture for that night begins, usually 6:00. Charlotte Hendrix did a post about this on the museum's blog here: Bring your friends (and the weekend) a little closer

[UPDATE 3/12/2014: Start time for jazz is now 6:00. End time will usually be 8:00 except on the third Thursday when there's an open poetry group, the Third Thursday Poetry Series that meets in the café at 7:00.]

[UPDATE 3/20/2014: Unfortunately there will be no jazz or café after hours on March 27, 2014 due to a private event. This will not affect normal 10-5 museum operations and programs.]


Guitarist Dan Mackowski, bassist Jason DeBlanc and myself will be the regular trio for the event, though that will morph from time to time.

For instance this Thursday (2/27), I will be playing at the Saugahatchee Country Club with the Mary Slaton Trio for the Lee County Literacy Coalition's event (details at this Auburn-Opelika Tourism calendar page). But Dan and Jason will play duo jazz at the museum.

Dan plays jazz standards like no one else in town. He approaches them with a finger-picking style, using lots of open strings, creating an ambient sound that fills up the reverberant museum halls. It reminds me of the way Bill Frisell plays.

Above is embedded a track of Dan playing his original piece, "Before the Fall." It's more of an ambient improvisation, and not exactly the kind of thing he plays when he's doing jazz. But you'll get the idea of his style.