Rosemary In Thyme Jazz Series: In Conversation With Jason Arkins

Celebrate the finest up and coming jazz musicians of the next generation with Jazz Sessions at The Square, a live music residency featuring performances by emerging jazz musicians reflecting the changing times every Thursday through May 25. The series is curated by Giant Step, an award-winning live music consultancy based in New York, and featured students of the prestigious Frost School of Music.

Kicking off the series is New York-native Jason Arkins, who chatted with us about his experience at Frost School of Music, the South Florida music scene, his influences, and more. You can catch Jason and his band JARKBOX at the lawn on April 27, 2023, from 6-9PM.

Introduce yourself and tell us where you are from?

I am from Carmel, NY a suburb of New York City. 

How long have you been in college and what is special about South Florida and Frost School of Music?

I am currently a senior at the Frost School of Music. The two most special parts about Frost are the faculty and the high level of musicianship that the student body brings to the table. It's a melting pot of ideas and inspiration can be found every single day from the teachers and your fellow students. South Florida is a wonderful place to be a musician. Partly due to Frost's alumni, the music scene is filled with incredible performances which you sometimes have to do a little searching for, but they are there!

What instrument (s) do you play and how long have you been playing for?

I am a Saxophonist and I have been playing for about 13 years now, since I was 9 years old.

What can we expect from your performance?

My band JARKBOX, which I will be bringing up to West Palm that day, is a jazz fusion group. We meld rhythms and harmonies from funk, rock, R&B, etc. and other styles of music with jazz improvisation.

Top 3 musical influences?

Cannonball Adderley Herbie Hancock My teachers from Frost

If you could play with one musician (living or dead) who would that be and why?

Herbie Hancock