At the beginning of the 2023 school year, Junior Henry Kress noticed a lack of community for musicians on campus. He formed “Jam Club” out of habit, as Kress plays live in class weekly. The club provides community and entertainment for students, performers and others.
“I just wanted to make a space where any major could show up and have fun. I felt like Jam Club was the best way to describe these things,” Kress said. “As someone who can’t travel around St. Louis, it’s a great opportunity to meet new people and learn new stuff.”
So far, the club has hosted two meetings since its inception in September. Freshman Zack Vaughn, a jazz performance major, feels the sense of community created by Jam Club has worked well to bring people together on campus.
“Y’know I think the biggest appeal of a jam club is the communal aspect of it. My favorite part about it is getting to see new faces every week, getting to share the love of music with everybody. Whether you’re audio engineering or theater, Jam Club is a great way to unite everybody through love and music,” Vaughn said.
The club has not only attracted students, but alumni. Patrick Fanara, a 2022 graduate, returns routinely to play with the group.
“We’ve always had jazz combos. When at a jazz combo rehearsal, there’s always a portion of jamming. We had a group chat called “Webjam,” but that didn’t happen as frequently and wasn’t an organized thing,” Fanara said.
Jam Club welcomes musicians of every caliber — an area that Kress said Webster is lacking. It brings together non-musical majors to enjoy more casual performances and performance majors an opportunity to practice their craft.
“It’s somewhere you can come and listen to live music for free on the Webster campus. We’re right on campus, you can go home whenever you want. We’re a safe environment, we’re all good buddies and it creates a sense of community in appreciating jazz,” Kress said. “I think it’s the best way to experience music.”
Jam Club continues to bring a growing artistic community to Webster. The group plans to expand events, hoping to host a Christmas session, rock night and more. Their next session will be Nov. 7 in the Sunnen Lounge.
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