Want to sip your cup of joe with a taste of jazz?

The MTSU Jazz Voice Department has partnered with JoZoara Coffee Shop in Murfreesboro to provide just such an atmosphere, featuring student performances every fourth Saturday evening, beginning Sept. 28.

In what’s been dubbed the “Cup of Songs,” MTSU Jazz Voice students will give free performances between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. at JoZoara, which is located at 536 N. Thompson Lane in Murfreesboro and serves a variety of coffee drinks, non-coffee drinks and sandwiches.

Top vocal talent will be on display, as some Jazz Voice students also perform with the MTSU Singers-Jazz Vocal Ensemble, an audition-only select group of no more than 16 singers. Directed by MTSU School of Music professor and Grammy Award-winning TAKE 6 member Cedric Dent, the ensemble performs jazz standards and jazz-style arrangements of popular music, and includes choral jazz and vocal improvisation.

“‘Cup of Songs at JoZoara Coffee Shop’ is an event to shine a light on the singers and songwriters at MTSU,” said Ashley Kimbrough, adjunct jazz voice professor and assistant director of the MTSU Singers. “It will be a fun time of music and improvisation.”

While the event will feature Jazz Voice students, it is also open to different genres such as pop, R&B, country, hip-hop and others, Kimbrough said. Students wanting to perform at the event should contact Kimbrough at Ashley.Kirby@mtsu.edu.

Meanwhile, mark your calendars for Nov. 14, when the MTSU Singers will be in concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall in the Wright Music Building. The concert, which is free and open to the public, will feature Vocal Jazz and other genres.

For more information on MTSU School of Music events, call 615-898-2493 or visit the “Concert Calendar” link at www.mtsumusic.com.

For more information about JoZoara Coffee Shop, call 615-962-7175 or visit http://www.jozoaracoffeeshop.com.

— Jimmy Hart (jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu)

Check out this snapshot of the MTSU Singers-Jazz Vocal Ensemble: