Jazz music lovers came together in Myrtle Beach to enjoy two full days of performances.
The Myrtle Beach Jazz Festival hosted their 7th annual event Oct. 21 and 22 in the historic district of Charlie’s Place, located in the Booker T. Washington neighborhood. The mission of the festival is to keep jazz alive by bringing in large audiences from all over the state and beyond.
“One of the wonderful things about Charlie’s Place is that it was the home of jazz for Myrtle Beach for a long time,” Professor of Music Emilio Terranova said.
Attendee Brandie Dudley drove just over six hours to experience the Myrtle Beach Jazz Festival for Saturday’s performance with her friends. It was no doubt, she said, the festival exceeded her standards from the sound to the vendors.
“I’m just now getting back into my love of jazz. When I was young, I used to love, love, love jazz,” Dudley said. “We will come here next year.”
This year marks the first invitation for the student and faculty music ensembles consisting of Coastal Carolina University’s Jazz Combo, Jazz Faculty, and the R&B Ensemble named “It’s Really None of Your Business” by the students.
“We were thrilled to hear that they would want to include us and jumped at the opportunity to include our student ensembles, as well as our faculty ensemble,” Terranova said.
Not only is this Coastal’s first invitation, but the student and faculty ensembles are the solo performers to represent jazz talent in South Carolina, since no other performer is based in the area.
Performing in cities across the state, such as Greenville, Charleston and Columbia, Terranova knows there is no shortage of jazz talent in the area.
“There’s so much talent in our states in all avenues of music, and specifically jazz, across many city borders, and genuinely all throughout the state,” he said. “Every little town has talent.”
As an educator, Terranova said he believes it is meaningful to integrate the ensembles, specifically the students, into the local community. A goal of his is to show his students that there are opportunities that await them.
“I think that’s really powerful for our students,” Terranova said. “Having the experience of playing at a festival is irreplicable.”
