Low chatter pervades the room, fading into silence as the lights dim and eyes turn to the raised stage in the corner, reflecting the start of a night transcending human language.

Wednesday Night Jazz Meeting, a free monthly show at the Texas Union’s Cactus Cafe, provides students with the opportunity to engage in jazz. Local musicians perform live while baristas serve refreshments, and attendees enjoy smooth listening. Neil Blumofe, senior rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim, began Wednesday Night Jazz Meeting, originally Views and Brews, over 10 years ago. 

“(Wednesday Night Jazz Meeting is) in a better place now than I think (it’s) ever been,” Blumofe said. “I think (it’s) the interest from students at UT, which was always my dream … that’s why I like to keep it free, because I want it to be a low barrier, no barrier, for people to come and explore this incredible American musical art form.”

Funded by the University along with donations, the event has stayed afloat. Jazz, however, remains impossible without the time and talent of musicians, such as saxophonist Michael Malone, an eight-year veteran of Wednesday Night Jazz. 

“Part of being a musician is to be able to come into any kind of situation and make the best of any kind of situation you step into,” Malone said. “You know, there’s a ton of mistakes, and you guys probably wouldn’t hear it … we know how to make stuff sound good.” 

Short rehearsal times and quick turnarounds make for a unique performance, both for musicians and listeners. The show on Feb. 11, “Jazz and the Art of Love and Romance,” focused on a different theme than the previous month’s, “Jazz and the Art of Musical Theater.” The latter became a favorite show for Trevin Gatto, supply chain management senior and Cactus Cafe bartender. Gatto said his attendance at Wednesday Night Jazz Meetings is in the double digits. 

“(Blumofe) wanted to go through musicals, which was really different and interesting,” Gatto said. “He went through both ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ and he took into account what was happening at the times when both those musicals were coming about.” 

Both Blumofe and Malone said jazz allows listeners to engage with America in a special way, with both jazz’s and America’s history being inextricably bound. Blumofe said he loves the unpredictability of live jazz, that every night presents a new way of expressing ideas and feelings.

“Jazz, in a nutshell, is taking the imperfections of the world and bringing them through the beautiful lens of jazz to beautify something,” Blumofe said. “Because a lot of jazz was written with prejudice, with inequality, with racism, and … you can hear the struggle, but you can also hear the transformation into a sense of beauty.”