The M.M. Bennett Library of St. Petersburg College celebrates Jazz Appreciation month with a concert by O Som Do Jazz at 7 PM on April 4th at the Gibbs campus library. The concert is free and open to the public.

O Som Do Jazz has been bringing the swinging sounds of authentic Brazilian jazz to the Tampa Bay area for six years. See O Som Do Jazz at last year’s Jazz in the Stacks concert here. SPC professor Dr. David Manson, the band’s trombonist, and composer, started the band with his wife, lead singer Andrea Moraes Manson so they could spend time together while playing gigs. Andrea is a native of Rio de Janeiro, and grew up immersed in the world of Latin jazz. David is a life long lover of jazz, and previously played in a Frank Zappa tribute band. O Som Do Jazz is releasing a new CD, A Kiss for Rio, on April 20th which can be purchased through their website.

The concert provides a window into a style of music that has virtually disappeared from the airwaves. O Som Do Jazz’s repertoire ranges from sweet romantic pieces to songs that tell the story of life under Brazil’s dictatorship in the 1960s. Playing the library is an unusual gig, but David thinks it is a lot of fun. “You get to make noise somewhere that it’s normally not allowed, it is the thrill of the forbidden,” along with the opportunity to play for a diverse audience ranging from kids to old folks.

Librarians love Jazz in the Stacks too. Librarian Chad Mairn, who moonlights in the band Fowler’s Bluff, had this to say about the upcoming show: “To me, libraries are all about discovery. So, if a library can include special programming, like jazz concerts, that is a huge bonus because it brings people inside the library who usually don’t make it in that far. The nice thing is that they then discover an amazing band while also seeing firsthand that the library has so much more to offer than dusty books on a shelf. It truly is a win/win situation, and I am so fortunate to play a role in making it happen.”

Jazz in the Stacks celebrates both the creativity of jazz as a form and the talented artists that you see every day on campus. Join the celebration on April 4th at 7 P.M. in the Gibbs campus library, or follow The Sandbox News on Twitter for live coverage of the event.