HQBlue Brings Jazz To Fellow Amazon HQ2 Employees In VA

ARLINGTON, VA — A group of Amazon engineers, legal, and sustainability professionals entertained their fellow workers with the sweet sounds of smooth jazz at the tech company's HQ2 campus in Arlington on Friday.

The eight-piece jazz combo called HQBlue has been rehearsing in the evenings and during lunch in preparation for Friday's performance in the lounge space adjacent to the second floor cafe in the Met 2 building.

Saxophonist Alex Rudee works in worldwide sustainability, helping Amazon to meet its goals under the company's climate pledge of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

"I work on protecting and restoring tropical rainforests to remove carbon from the atmosphere.," he said, prior to Friday's performance.

A musician since the age of 9, Rudee said that HQBlue grew out of a musicians interest group some employees formed in 2021-2022 over Slack. This led to him joining HQ2's symphonic group, which played every few weeks at the office.

"Then in 2023, we got enough people interested in jazz that we started this group, kind of an offshoot, jamming together," he said.

Friday's afternoon jam was HQBlue's second performance. The group played during a recent Earth Day event at the Met Park campus.

Prior to Amazon's September 2024 decision for employees to return to the office full-time following the pandemic, HQBlue was the reason Rudee would come to meet up with other musicians and play.

"I love the work that I do here," Rudee said. "Sustainability is my driving career passion, but I also love my creative hobbies. Being able to do that in the same place is really motivating."

Amazon spokesperson Amanda Cruz called HQBlue more than just a band.

"It’s a reflection of the energy and human spirit that makes Amazon’s HQ2 a one-of-a-kind place to work," she said. "It is a powerful example of how community and creativity thrive when people return to the office and rediscover what it means to connect beyond the job description."

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