{"id":8367,"date":"2024-10-21T14:54:37","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T14:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/?p=8367"},"modified":"2026-02-18T18:30:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T18:30:42","slug":"meet-the-rural-road-warriors-of-jazz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/stories\/meet-the-rural-road-warriors-of-jazz\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Rural Road Warriors of Jazz"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Picture this: an auditorium full of students in Grafton, North Dakota, clapping and cheering. On stage, JAS Quintet is performing. The students, grades 3 through 7, scream so loud after each solo that you\u2019d think they were at a Taylor Swift concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t your typical day in Grafton, a town of 4,000. Jazz doesn\u2019t exactly fill the airwaves here. For many of these kids, it\u2019s their first time hearing live jazz\u2014and they are loving<\/em> it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Alana Horton<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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\n JAS Quintet plays for a student audience while on a Jazz Road tour in Grafton, ND.\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n \n \n <\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bringing Jazz to Small Towns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For JAS Quintet, though, this scene is nothing new. Members of this five-piece group have been playing in rural towns across South Dakota for over a decade thanks to local touring grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their mission? Introduce jazz to the next generation\u2014kids who might never hear it otherwise. They estimate that they\u2019ve performed for over 65,000 students over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI try to share what we’re doing, letting audiences know that what they\u2019re hearing is unique and we’ll never play it again,\u201d says band co-founder Joel Shotwell, speaking about improvisation and jazz. \u201cI like to go into how this music evolved, and how American it really is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JAS Quintet includes Shotwell on saxophone, along with Jeffrey Paul (keys), Andrew Reinartz (bass), Daniel Heier (drums), and Jim Speirs (trumpet).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, they create a sound that blends original jazz pieces with timeless classics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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