Jazz Concert Review

The jazz concert held on the night of April 24, featured nine very good tunes, most of which were very lively and involved. Each song had a different group of musicians and many members of the large band included students. The venue of the concert was significantly different and was held at the Roost instead of the Bandersnatch. In addition, the venue was rather bizarre and there was a loss of connection between the band and the people watching. The stage was set relatively far away from the audience and the overall atmosphere was very strange compared to what I am used to. Despite the bizarre atmosphere, all of the musicians were very lively and upbeat and produced wonderful music together. A majority of the songs were very lively and upbeat and included some riffs. One of the songs was very slow and included beautiful singing accompanied with a very soft and gentle rhythm section. All in all, despite the abnormal setting, the concert itself was very unique and enjoyable between all the lively songs being played by many very lively musicians that included regular band members, faculty from the school and other very talented students.

There are two particular tunes that really impacted me that I particularly remember out of the nine. The third song played, was a tune from Joe Henderson called, Blue Bossa, and was particularly enjoyable because it thoroughly involved the participation of all musicians. The tune featured a very impressive combination of the rhythm section and the three horns in the front. The horns would intermittently play with the rhythm then switch to very charismatic solos. The song included bass, which appeared to look like a cello, piano, two saxophonists, a trumpeter, a drummer and a rhythm guitarist. The song began with all seven members playing relatively conservatively and then quickly transitioned to a saxophone improvisation. The saxophonist was then substituted by the trumpeter, Jack Ogilvy, who played a very aggressive, loud and charismatic solo that really grabbed my attention. The saxophonists then rejoined and replaced the trumpeter to create a beautiful harmony. All of this is going on with the rhythm section in the background, however, the drumming is becoming gradually more aggressive. Then, perhaps my favorite part of the song is when Pete Mills has a saxophone solo that also grabbed my attention. Once the solo was over, there was a brief transition back to the rhythm section and is quickly overshadowed by a guitar solo. Once the guitar solo is done, all the members rejoin and the band becomes more charismatic than ever. The sound and melody is fantastic. Finally, the pianist steals the show with a beautiful solo and then the bassist does the same shortly after. The rhythm section is particularly quiet while the bassist is playing. Once the bassist is done, all the band members rejoin for one last loud, aggressive and charismatic finale and then they all begin to fade the sound of their instruments until the end. I particularly like this song because while it was like most of the other songs, I felt that the overall structure, melody and improvisations were combined to create a fabulous tune.

The other song that particularly caught my attention was the second to last tune. I really enjoyed it because it had a much slower tempo and also incorporate beautiful singing by Quinn. I liked how this tune was so unique and unlike any other song played. It was slower, more peaceful and very relaxed. The song began with very peaceful, relatively slow and light piano playing that I found to be immensely enjoyable. The piano was accompanied by very subtle, yet quite good sounding bass that helped produce a perfect rhythm section. In addition, there was extremely light percussion in the sonf. The rhythm section, though very quiet, was perfect in enabling the audience to hear Quinn’s superb singing voice. Her voice sounded very similar to Billie Holiday and was a delight to listen to. There was a small portion of the song where she stopped singing and all that was being heard was the peaceful and slow tempo rhythm section. The rhythm volume picked up briefly then quickly faded in order to let Quinn to re-enter the song. The song continued with Quinn and the rhythm until the very end. What I particularly enjoyed about this tune is that it was a small hiatus in the somewhat chaotic and overly charismatic melody that all of the other songs seemed to have.

I would have to say that despite the very bizarre venue of the concert, the overall experience was quite enjoyable. What I particularly found enjoyable was the overall raw talent that the students had. I loved how there was constantly substitution among the musicians and the ages of the musicians couldn’t have possibly been more varied. Everyone displayed a very lively and upbeat attitude that also took away from the bizarre venue. The solos were also quite enjoyable to listen to and I also felt myself being increasingly impressed as the show progressed. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and applaud the large amount of musicians who participated.