The Origins
Project Overview
JAZZ ORBIT is a mobile music stage produced by Waillis Lee, a 2022 Hong Kong Economic Trade Office of New York (HKETONY) Arts Activator at Yale-China. Painted with geometric patterns in sharp, saturated colors and featuring a pedal-powered rotating platform that accommodates a drum set and an electric piano, JAZZ ORBIT can travel to specific neighborhoods in New Haven to connect musicians with local communities. Audiences are invited to dance, clap, hum, and otherwise improvise along with the jazz beats to collaboratively create an entertaining, outdoor music experience.
“joy = one’s passion + shared opportunities + sustainability”
Conceptualizing JAZZ ORBIT
Waillis arrived in New Haven in January 2022 to begin her Yale-China Arts fellowship. Deciding that her project would serve the New Haven community, she reached out to cultural practitioners and invested community members in the area to understand their concerns and priorities. After dealing with COVID for two years, people undoubtedly would be eager to physically reconnect and share “joy”. But how would each person’s idea of “joy” compare after the pandemic?
Their responses converged on the idea that joy involved fulfilling one’s passion while also caring for others. Participating in environmentally sustainable practices were also expressed. Waillis used these responses to derive a “joy formula”: joy = one’s passion + shared opportunities + sustainability. With this joy formula in mind, she then developed the idea of creating a mobile performance stage that could elicit joy by drawing on local talents and shared resources while supporting sustainable practices.
JAZZ ORBIT’s three joy elements
1. The Cycling Passion
New Haven has a vibrant cycling culture for cycling enthusiasts. After obtaining a generously loaned bicycle trailer from The Devil’s Gear Bike Shop in New Haven and a generously loaned electric bike and helmet from Elm City Cycling, Waillis enlisted Ryan Paxton from the Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop to help design a mobile music stage using the equipment. Ryan incorporated his favorite kinetic design – the interconnected orbiting routes of the sun, earth, and moon – into JAZZ ORBIT’s mobile mechanism. Accordingly, the music stage spins as the bicyclist pedals.
2. Orbiting Among Disciplines for Shared Inspiration and Opportunities
With its solo improvisations, polyphonic harmonies, and syncopated rhythms, jazz is among the most collaborative of musical genres, with frequent interplay between musicians and even audience members. So for “shared opportunities”, it was natural to choose jazz to be performed atop the revolving stage. Jazz musicians were consulted to ensure that the performance space would be adequate and comfortable. In considering the visual look of JAZZ ORBIT, the musicians and design team viewed contemporary paintings at the Yale University Art Gallery and found inspiration from Al Held, an American abstract expressionist artist. His bold use of color and geometric patterns were incorporated onto JAZZ ORBIT, adding art and math to the existing interconnections of engineering and music in the final design.
3. A Collective Arts Effort for Community and Sustainability
Waillis reached out to community organizations with experience in arts-related projects to help implement community engagement efforts. As a result, two events with specific routes and performance stops in distinct New Haven neighborhoods were planned. Interactive prompts to generate audience participation were also devised. With continued support from local community organizations to maintain operability and utilization, JAZZ ORBIT can continue to share joy in communities throughout New Haven for sustained social impact.
JAZZ ORBIT Project Team
Creative Producer: Waillis Lee, 2022 HKETONY Arts Activator
Lead Designer: Ryan Paxton, Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop
Jazz Musicians: New Haven Jazz Underground
Jazz Playlist Curator: Jarron Long, Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective
Equipment and Cycling Support: The Devil’s Gear Bike Shop and Paul Proulx, Elm City Cycling
Presentation Partner: New Haven Symphony Orchestra