Saxophonist and clarinetist Ana Nelson will mix originals with jazz standards and more Friday at the Jazz at Helen’s concert.
Harmony means plenty to alto saxophonist and clarinetist Ana Nelson, both onstage and off.
The curious can see for themselves when the 29-year-old Bloomington-based jazz, pop and more artist headlines the next Jazz at Helen’s Columbus concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday with a quartet that includes fiance Jamaal Baptiste on keyboards. The pair got engaged two months ago.
In the past, they were engaged in producing Nelson’s 2022 original disc “Bridges,” with several tunes expected to be in Friday’s set list. She also plans to include some jazz standards plus seasonal classics such as “The Christmas Song” and “Let It Snow.”
“I just want to bring people joy especially as we approach the holiday season,” said Nelson, speaking by phone from her home.
Her music has been a joy to audiences from Indianapolis to Aruba for several years now. The website allaboutjazz.com gushed about her debut disc that “Nelson showcases her virtuosity as a performer and her inventiveness as a composer.”
The recording sprang from an Indiana University music class assignment to record an original, extended-play disc. A Presser Foundation grant allowed her to expand on the EP concept for an added mix of tunes with influences from jazz to classical. Her father, tenor sax player Bill Nelson, even joins her on one energetic and intense number, “Fruit of the Groove.”
Accolades have followed.
“If she so chooses,” wrote a reviewer at arstash.com, “Nelson would easily be able to join the community of accomplished female jazz musicians on major labels.”
But she seems to take such praise in stride. And she seems humble enough to be more fascinated with other topics. Those include such elements as the fact that, 10 years ago, some national studies showed that only 9% of jazz instrumentalists were women. Today, new studies show that that number has risen to nearly 27%.
“I’ve been thinking about that for a while,” she said, adding she recently was on a conference panel to discuss the issue among musicians. “Obviously, there are a few more of us out there now. And I think more people are beginning to listen (to female artists).”
Her father clearly encouraged her at every stage of her musical interest. That was significant especially because she was in the minority all along.
“Even in high school (in Wisconsin), I was one of the few girls in jazz band,” she said.
Understandably, the Indiana University adjunct lecturer in music appreciation includes female jazz artists in her class discussions. Too, she feels a bit of responsibility to be a role model for young, female, aspiring musicians.
And her goal of connecting with others is right at home in intimate jazz venues such as the Chatterbox in Indianapolis or the 90-seat setting of the local Helen Haddad Hall, where the front row patrons nearly can reach out and touch the performers. Nelson believes that can better equip an artist to touch and move a listener.
“That (proximity) allows you to really connect more easily with an audience,” she said.
She will do so on Friday with her group that, besides her fiance, includes Brendan Keller-Tuberg on bass and Francis Bassett-Dilley on drums. Bassett-Dilley has performed with such jazz stalwarts as Steve Allee, who appeared with his quartet last month at Jazz at Helen’s. When Nelson refers to the band with a glowing gush, she’s quite serious.
“I just hope,” she said, “that this also exposes people to some great jazz musicians from Bloomington.”
About the concert
Who: Saxophonist and clarinetist Ana Nelson of Bloomington performing as part of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic’s Jazz at Helen’s series. The format for this show is 92 seats in an auditorium setting.
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.
Where: Helen Haddad Hall at 315 Franklin St in downtown Columbus.
Tickets and other information: thecip.org.
