Fresno State College of Arts and Humanities and the Department of Music hosted the annual Jazz-O-Ween Wednesday.

The concert was performed in the concert hall at Fresno State and featured both the Fresno State Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble.­ Directed and hosted by Alan Durst since 2008, the concert included a mixture of inspirational vocal and instrumental jazz music.

To keep with the Halloween spirit, the audience was encouraged to wear costumes to the performance as well as the band members.­ Some band members took full advantage of this and took a more laidback approach to an otherwise reserved atmosphere.

Durst thinks everyone in the community could benefit from attending performances like this to expose themselves to a great genre of music.

“I recommend these types of events to all of the greater Fresno community”” students and non-students,” Durst said. “Jazz is one of America’s only true original art forms”” bred and matured in the United States. It is a conglomeration of African rhythm and western”” European harmony.”

Durst also discussed the importance of these performances and jazz music that has a long history in the United States.

“Jazz is such a vital part of the United States’ culture that in 1987, a congressional resolution was passed to declare jazz ‘a rare and valuable national American treasure’ sanctioning it by the State Department. It is an enjoyable way to be a part of our great nations culture,” Durst said.

Band members joined in the festivities by dressing in costume themselves. The ensemble include performances from students dressed as Mario, Luigi, Waldo and of course the Phantom of the Opera.

Wearing costumes, the performers were in good company as the director of the performance, Alan Durst, dressed as an angry bird.

Barbara Shinaver, a senior music education major at Fresno State, performed at the event and plans to pursue a graduate degree in music.­ Shinaver has performed all four years during Jazz-O-Ween and strongly supports the cause.

“Jazz-O-Ween is a Fresno State tradition,” Shinaver said. “We try to do a concert around Halloween and we got lucky this year that it actually was Halloween.”

Shinaver thinks that Jazz-O-Ween gives the performers a chance to have an audience to perform in front of, yet still have a good time.

“We love to perform. That’s why we do these ensembles. We really love it.­ People come, show up and listen to our music.­ This one is especially fun for the people to attend,” Shinaver said.

Attendance included friends and family of the performers but also covered a wide range of jazz supporters in the community including Fresno State students.

Taylor Johnson, A freshman at Fresno State, has been attending the event for the last few years and continues to attend for entertainment and support.

“I‘ve been coming to it (Jazz-O-Ween) since my sophomore year of high school and a lot of my friends are in it this year,” Johnson said.

Johnson enjoys blues and jazz music and thinks that Jazz-O-Ween is a great way to hear some of that genre while still having the freedom to wear costumes and have fun.

“It’s a really casual, fun music experience.­ It’s not like a stuffy concert.­ It’s really laid back and entertaining to watch people try and play their instruments in masks.­ I think this is the most welcoming concert,” Johnson said.

The Jazz-O-Ween performance started at 8 p.m. and included 11 different songs, most of which involved solos by many of the performers.

For any questions or information on upcoming jazz performances, contact Alan Durst in the music department at 559-278-2537.