Jazz Comes to Gallup

By Jason Arsenault

The Gallup Journey is your free community magazine, and Blue Dreams is your free community jazz. Christopher Jones, who goes by CJ, is new to our area and brings a wealth of jazz with him. He started playing music at the age of five and hasn’t looked back. It all started in Houston where he participated in Musical Theatre and that led to his touring domestically and internationally.

Blue Dreams is his way of giving back to the community and music. The idea is to promote jazz in our area through a partnership with the Hilton Garden Inn. Every Wednesday evening his group performs and invites anyone who is interested in playing to be part of the group. He is looking for community members and students to fill the band.

You don’t need to worry if you don’t have any experience playing live or playing jazz. Blue Dreams consists of local musicians who are fully capable of bringing you along on the artistic journey. They play the standards: Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Jobim, Sting, Gershwin, Sinatra, and more. As long as you can play, your instrument and you can become part of the conversation.

We took our teenage daughter and one of her friends to be part of Blue Dreams, and it was exciting. Both girls are members of their high school’s band and had never before taken part in something like this. One played her flute and the other the saxophone. CJ took them on a three-song jazz jam session, and it wasn’t long before they fell right into the groove. As they played for the on-looking travelers, their confidence and music grew. They had so much fun that they were invited to play for three more jazz numbers that night.

CJ hopes to build on the Wednesday night jazz sessions. His idea is those who love jazz will hear about the Hilton Garden gig and come to participate or enjoy an evening of relaxing and listening to their favorite numbers. The Hilton Garden Inn has provided a perfect space for the venue and the setting allows for an easylistening area to unwind from a busy day.

Make sure you take the time to catch Blue Dreams this month. Remember, if you miss one Wednesday, you can catch them the next. Also, if you play an instrument, the group is so welcoming that you will feel like you have been playing with them for decades. This is an exciting addition to our community and might just produce the next jazz great.

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