For more than a decade, Jazz at Holmes has been a Thursday night tradition at Washington University.

The jazz music series took off informally in July 1996 as part of the first Arts & Sciences summer weekend program, bringing St. Louis’ finest jazz musicians to campus, according to Steve Erlich, associate dean for undergraduate and special programs and co-coordinator of the Jazz at Holmes committee.

The committee has undergraduates, graduates, University College students, faculty and other administrators.

Jazz at Holmes offers about 10 performances each semester, in addition to four to six performances in the summer.

This fall’s first performance will be outdoors, unlike subsequent performances that will be held in Holmes Lounge. It is scheduled for Sept. 10 on the Brookings Quad under the Ridgley Arcade. Holmes Lounge has been designated as the alternative location in the event of rain.

All the performances are free of charge for University students, faculty and staff. The Jazz at Holmes committee depends on monetary contributions from a number of sources, including the College of Arts & Sciences, the Office of Campus Life and Student Activities, and the music department.
Student Union and the Congress of the South 40 also annually support the weekly jazz program, said junior Aeron Small, an undergraduate representative on the planning committee for Jazz at Holmes.

Small, who is majoring in biochemistry and minoring in jazz studies, is thrilled to be listening to live music on campus.

“I am very excited to see the Birth of the Cool event in October and the Miles Davis event in November,” he said. “Both events play the music of albums that I very much enjoy.”

Junior Zach Moscicki has attended Jazz at Holmes almost every week in the past two semesters.

“It’s a nice place to relax after classes and provides a good atmosphere to sometimes do homework,” Moscicki said.

Though the planning committee brings in mostly local St. Louis musicians, it often solicits nationally well-known artists as well. In the past semesters, famous jazz musicians including artists Gary Peacock, Bill Stewart and Marc Copeland have agreed to perform.

The program is also known for staging a wide variety of jazz music from across different styles and generations.

“It might seem that music such as that of Scott Alberici, who performs music of the Swing Era, and music from Miles Davis cannot comfortably fit into one category of music, but both have played a part in the history and evolution of jazz music,” Small said. “Jazz at Holmes allows students to experience many styles of jazz from swing to bebop to modern.”

Students respond favorably to Jazz at Holmes every year.