Small House creates jazz jams
Many students walk into Oakhouse on Elon University’s campus expecting a relaxing and comfortable place to hang out with friends and decompress from school. What many students don’t realize is that if they walk into Oakhouse on the first Friday of the month, they can expect jazz music from Small House. Small House is a jazz band comprised of six Elon students. Brandon Mitchell, one of the band’s members, has always thought about starting a band, he said. The first step was to start comprising original pieces. Not after long the band got their gig at Oakhouse—First Friday Jazz Jams. “Its been good so far because people are really coming by to show their support,” Mitchell said. The band describes themselves as jazz fusion with a touch of many types of different music Mitchell said. At the jazz jams, Small House loosely follows a routine. First, the band plays some of their original compositions. Then, after taking a short break they open the floor up to anyone who wants to collaborate. “Vocalists can sing with us, instrumentalists,” he said. “From there we branch out and do whatever people want to do. We kind of like to reach back to the community and reach back to other musicians.” One of Small House’s focuses is to remain connected with the community, he said. “Jazz in general is a universal language,” he said. “It really does bring people together. We’re really trying to focus on the community aspect. We’re trying to introduce this music to people. We want people to share this experience with us because it really is an experience for us too.” Brandon, a music performance major with a concentration in percussion, has been collaborating with members of the band for a while.
