There has been a significant development in New Jersey jazz history.

Since 1978, the Watchung Arts Center, located in Somerset County, has hosted many performing and visual arts showcases, including jazz concerts. To celebrate International Jazz Day on April 30, the venue attracted audience members to a 45-minute set from the Chris DeVito trio, which then shifted into a successful first-time attempt for the Arts Center: opening up the floor to a jam session, inviting any audience member with an instrument to play with the band.

Within the traditional jazz culture, attending jam sessions has been a vital part for musicians to publicly test their musical abilities. By speaking through their instrument amongst a like-minded crowd, they build up the necessary confidence it takes to advance their professional exposure.

The suggestion to host a jam session at the Arts Center came from pianist Chris DeVito himself, who for the last three years has played there annually on Valentine’s Day. Since 2011, DeVito has run a larger business titled Blue Truffle Music, through which he books jazz musicians for a wide variety of clients and events throughout the New York metropolitan area.

With his experience in gauging the public interest for jazz, DeVito’s idea came from wanting to help younger, musically-inclined locals realise that enjoying jazz isn’t only for the Arts Center’s typically older crowd.

“We’re trying to introduce a younger generation to the benefits of live performances,” said DeVito. “Right now, the world needs the healing power of jazz, and so my mission is to get younger people involved.”

This mission is apparent through DeVito’s decision to hire William Paterson grad student, trumpeter Mayuko Abe, to feature as a special guest in his opening trio set. Abe, a native of Tajago, Miyagi in Japan, said, “I’ve only been here for eight months, and I just really appreciate being in the local jazz scene.”

DeVito’s hiring of Abe for the gig, who is still a rising artist herself, indicated to the younger audience in the room that with determination, becoming a professional musician is an achievable career option, deserving of respectable support.

LaGuardia Arts High School senior Annabelle Lynch was the first to step up to the microphone once the jam session began, singing refreshing renditions of jazz standards “Lullaby of Birdland” and “All the Things You Are” with a cool, natural confidence.

Speaking with Annabelle’s father, Mark, following the jam, he shared, “I had a teacher who once told me that ‘all time spent on stage is valuable’. Now, what I most enjoy about my daughter is seeing how well she has taken to it herself.”

The remainder of the jam session involved more musicians with a variety of experience. These included William Paterson jazz program students Seth Burke and Michaela Shin, as well as veteran woodwind instrumentalist Gerry Cappuccio.

Cappuccio, born in Paterson, New Jersey, has consistently played in more than 17 gigging musical ensembles since he first picked up a clarinet at the age of 10, followed by saxophone and flute. Over the years, he has played in the West Point Band and shared the stage with well-known names in jazz, such as Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and Lionel Hampton. Burke found his presence at the jam inspiring.

All performers contributed to a unique show that had the non-participating audience members nodding along to the music in their seats for the next hour, until the jam concluded. Following the success of the whole event, Watchung Arts Center Executive Director Paul Pinkman is now in talks to turn the jam into a monthly tradition for the venue.

“Hosting a jazz jam session series at the Watchung Arts Center, which has a rich jazz history, helps create a vibrant platform for both seasoned musicians and emerging talent to collaborate and innovate,” says Pinkman. “It fosters community engagement, connects the audience with the area’s musical heritage, and strengthens the cultural fabric by offering live, interactive experiences.”

The Watchung Arts Center community anticipates welcoming even more audience members and musicians of all ages to their next jam session.