Jazz Brunch

Both students and faculty sat in the Elm Street Dining Hall and enjoyed the festive Valentine’s Day Breakfast, the performances from multiple students and professional jazz groups at this year’s Jazz Brunch last Sunday.From 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Jazz Brunch replaced the weekly Sunday brunch and also brought along with it Valentine’s Day decorations, breakfast and candy. Many students enjoyed an extraordinary breakfast of pancakes and fruit, and the dining hall also offered treats such as Valentine’s Day themed pastries, a molten chocolate fountain and cappuccinos served in exclusive “Jazz Brunch” mugs.Normally an annual event, the brunch was canceled last year due to a blizzard and wasn’t rescheduled. However, the event has existed and has been consistently put on for decades. This year, unlike previous years, Jazz Brunch fell on one of the coldest days of the year, adding another level of festivity to the event.Senior Cam Rider found that Jazz Brunch was a great way to escape the record-setting low temperatures of this year’s Exeter winter. “It was honestly a great way to spend my morning: eating sugar with a bunch of friends. It was a bonding experience for the entire school,” he said.

“The live music is really what did it for me.”

With the roses on every table and other Valentine’s Day-themed decorations, Elm Street Dining Hall was transformed into an environment conducive to eating more snacks than one should. Rider said, “but [the decorations] definitely did make the whole thing more personal and memorable.”However, some students argued that the actual food of the event was drowned out by the overflowing amount of Valentine’s Day candy. Lower Reed Ouellette said, “I just felt that the meal was a bit too sugary with all of the sugar hearts and pastries. I would’ve really just enjoyed nicer breakfast than what is normally there on Sundays.”Many agreed with Ouellette and felt confused about where dining services is currently investing their funds. Rider, like Ouellette, explained that while he did enjoy the brunch, he thought all of the candy was unnecessary and would rather see the dining hall staff balance out the funds so that th Exeter community could have better quality meals more often.Besides the food, both students and faculty who attended the brunch were greeted by live music performed by instructors of music Les Harris on the drums, Mark Carlsen on bass, Charles Jennison on saxophone and special guest Paul Broadnax on Piano. During this quartet’s breaks, students in jazz groups performed.Senior Kevin Zhen found that while the professional musicians were very talented, there was something special about seeing his peers perform. “Seeing friends of mine play such beautiful music during such a relaxed and accessible event made the whole thing so much more personal and meaningful than just a Valentine’s Day-themed brunch,” he said.Harris, a member of the quartet, agreed with Zhen and explained that the Jazz Brunch itself was planned in order to make a music form, which he enjoys, accessible to so many people. “You might see 40 students and staff total at some of the Tuesday concerts during the year,” Harris said. “But at Jazz Brunch, we were performing for the entire school at some point. I think there’s something really special about that.”Without the live music, upper Emily Robb said, the event would’ve just been a regular, yet tastier, brunch. “The live music is really what did it for me. Imagine if there was just an iPod playing jazz in the background of Dhall? That wouldn’t have been anything special.”Many students agreed with Robb’s sentiments and also how relaxed the event was. “I wore sweatpants to the brunch, just like almost everyone else there,” said prep Raymond Alvarez-Adorno. “I don’t think as many people would have gone if it was super uptight. It was nice just to wander in there and have a nice warm drink while still basically in pajamas.”Besides the effect that the brunch had on students, the professional band enhanced the atmosphere of the event. Even though some of the band’s previous members, including instructors of music Jim Howe and Tommy Galant, have unfortunately departed.The quartet, with the introduction of new members, finds a way to honor their late friends. “We do all we can to preserve the names and legacies of these great musicians and extremely influential music teachers here at the academy,” Harris said.