It has been said ‘jazz music is a gift that America has given to the world’. That is one way to acknowledge that this uniquely American art form has taken root in countries everywhere you look. Wherever it goes, it morphs into the culture it inhabits; after all, it is improvision that defines its essence. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, there is no better exponent of its vitality than the next Kiwi jazz musician coming to the Whanganui Jazz Club on Sunday.
Meet Oscar Laven - an eclectic tenor saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist based in Wellington. Coming from a musical family, he learned music at an early age and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in jazz and classical performance from the New Zealand School of Music. Now in his 30s, Laven is a busy fulltime performer, composer and teacher. You are likely to have heard him with one of the country’s symphony orchestras or with the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band, or anywhere where serious music (or any other music for that matter) is on offer.
Should you take a look at his diary entries for the past month, you will see:
… Amped to play with American blues guitarist Chris Cain and the mighty Rodger Fox Big Band, tonight at Jack Hackett’s.
... What a day! Playing Copland and Bernstein with the symphony at 6.30pm at Michael Fowler Centre, and then playing 90s nostalgia video game tunes at 9pm at Hashigo Zake.
