Jazz Concert Critique

This review is about the Studio Big Band and their performance in the Casa Loma Room at the University of Redlands on Thursday, February 23rd at eight in the evening, under the direction of Prof. David Scott. The concert was made up of the following tunes: “High Maintenance” by Gordon Goodwin, “Four” by Miles Davis (arr. Dave Bardhun), “Nica’s Dream” by Horace Silver (arr. Frank Mantooth), “Witchcraft” by Cy Coleman (arr. Sammy Nestico), “Footprints” by Wayne Shorter (arr. Mat Harris), “Category 4” by Jeff Jarvis, and “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane (arr. Mark Taylor). The music on this program was very relevant for the eras we are covering or will be covering soon in the class, and to this end, the piece I will be focusing on

On Friday night, November 13, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. I attended the Manhattan School of Music for the Jazz Orchestra that performed by Jazz vocalists and MSM alumni Jane Monheit and many other musicians. That place is unlikely the ordinary place, people have appropriate dress on and have nicely etiquette toward the performers, unlike me, many of audiences seem like that they come to this concert with certain knowledge of Jazz orchestra. And its musical venue was the ideal spot for the concert, so I sat in a decent spot spot that located at midst of the concert hall where I can view all the performers and hear performers’ music clearly. And the conductor informally began the show was quite nicely and politely which made me feel really comfortable

The audience was wrapped in the complexity and intensity that radiated in this piece. This was due to the disjunct melody, as the piece sounded generally uneven, with recurring wide leaps as the piece had a wide range. It was mesmerizing, watching the technique and fast pace hand movements. Furthermore, the song had a general homophonic texture as there was a clear dominant melody being played, with a few different chords supporting the melody. Despite there being a few tempo changes as the song alternated in pace, the piece sustained a duple meter, emphasizing on the jazz rhythm. The uniqueness of the piece was especially brought out through the frequent dissonance harmony, which made the piece more interesting to listen to. The piece had an overall free rhythmic feel, allowing the combination of distinctive rhythms and dynamics into a unique melody. The timbre of the piano matched the style of music as it was successful in giving the jazzy tone to the piece. Nevertheless, I think that the use of a full orchestra is more successful in delivering the full jazz melody as each instruments timbre provides an interesting influence on the

This concert took place on Thursday March 16, 2017 in the Atkinson Recital Hall located at New Mexico State University in the Music Center at 7:30 in the evening. The concert consisted of four jazz bands, NMSU jazz one and two as well Las Cruces High school jazz band one and two. The first the stage the NMSU jazz II, director by Pancho Romero. The first song they had played was “Primera Vista composed by Wayne Wallace”. Along with the jazz band they also have a few percussionists as well, on bongos, xylophone, and a drum set. The band also played two more songs called “Undecided arranged by Mike Tomaro/Shavers” and “Afro Blue arranged by Michael Mossman/Santamaria”. My favorite was the Afro blue song, there was a lot of solos which I loved

“Minor Mystery,” the first piece played by the group, was composed and arranged by Ellen Rowe. This song is a minor blues that is normally set to be played at a medium swing, however, this performance was taken at a slightly faster pace. This allowed for the piece to be played with more energy, rather than just standing still. “Minor Mystery” is a work that lets the ensemble demonstrate their stylistic technique. This piece is riddled with dynamic contrasts and notations such as marcatos, accents, and tenutos. This proved to be a challenge, due to the fact that not everyone has the same concept of how these notes should be played. While learning and rehearsing this song, stylistic concepts were probably what we spent the most time on. In order to really sound together and like one cohesive unit, the perfection of these articulations was crucial.

The ensemble was more colorful with the addition of guitar solos as well as saxophone solos. Although having many solos, the ensemble came together as a whole for this song and heightened the melody by blending well when there wasn’t a solo. This piece was the

This song is an example of Afro-Cuban that has a clave rhythmic pattern. This performance started off with the bass and drum creating the beat for the entire song, followed by the piano and then the brass instruments. Drummer Clyde Conner performed a solo showing his ability to play a soulful piece but having the Latin twist to it, which was very impressive. Ben Grier also had a solo where the sounds of Afro-Cuban jazz seemed so fluid though his performance. He also immensely impressed the crowd when he played a high note and held, which caused for a round of

My overall response to the dance concert is spectacular because each dance piece was moving, remarkable, and motivational. Each dance had an astounding affect on me and allowed to me repelled into the performance. These impressions came from me analyzing the dance pieces, “A Brief Study of Recent History and “One Heart, Two Worlds”, for the Spring 2016 Studio 115 Dance Concert Series at USM’s Dance and Theatre Building on May 4th. The first performance, “A Brief Study of Recent History” was choreographed by Elizabeth Lentz-Hill and introduced by the dancers Jennifer Alafat, Megan Bradberry, Shaquille Hayes, etc. While the second piece, “One Heart, Two Worlds”, was choreographed by Dejonelle Gleeton and the performers were Brittain Allgood,

This week, on February 27, I visited the Latin Jazz Ensemble concert at Sacramento State University. It was my first time at a jazz concert in Sacramento. The jazz ensembles performed seven pieces during the concert with twelve different instruments. “Mama Cool Beans”, “Keeper for the Flame”, “Next Exit”, and “Plena Con Sabor” were four different and unique pieces which I liked and I think these compositions inspired the audience.

On October 13, I attended a concert by the UT Jazz orchestra at the Bates Recital Hall. This performance consisted of seven pieces and all were stylistically different, which allowed the audience to enjoy the various sounds of jazz music. Among the instrument groups, there are saxophones, trumpets, trombones, piano and drums. Professor Jeff Hellmer served as director andJohn Mills appeared as guest conductor. The whole concert made a lasting impression on me.

have been well showcased in this difficult piece. These pieces are seen as challenges for many modern singers as well. It goes to show just how talented and well trained the performers were.

MUS 110CL Concert Critique Guidelines and Rubric After either attending a live concert or watching a full length concert online, write a critique of the performance following the format below. Here are a few examples of full length concerts you can find online (by conducting a web search using the criteria below) that could be used for this assignment:         Coldplay Live In Boston 2012 (Full Concert DVD) Sting: If on a winters night-Live from Durham Cathedral 2009 (watch all 14 songs on concert) Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman, Jan Hammer, Charlie Duke Ellington The Great Paris Concert Richard Galliano/Winton Marsalis - Billie Holiday meets Edith PIAF Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Jazz Center

The theme of this concert was very relevant to the season. All the songs sounded wintery, and perfect for Christmas. While all the songs played into the general theme of the concert, the mood and style of each of the songs was different. The first song, Andante Festivo, was played by the stings and was a little slow paced but at the same time uplifting. The nest song, Divertimento, was fast paced and sounded happy. This song was also played by the strings. Reverie was played by the strings, and it was slow, but dramatic. The next song was a solo for the violin players. It was 3 different Rumanian folk dances. The songs were fast and kind of pop-ish. The instrumentals last song was Merry Christmas, Darling, which was slow and reflective. The first song that the choir and piano perform is Daybreak, the piano sounded fun and the vocals very high. The next song was

The second vocal ensemble of the night started out with a song which included a twelve bar blues, called “ I use to know you”. This performance consisted of the most combinations of solos of the night as well as using an improvising style. The entire band started all together which led to a Trumpet solo. Then Jose on the Sax did his solo followed by the pianist comping. Then the choir along with the band joined together to lead to a female solo which was particularly interesting since she was scatting. The second performance of this ensemble was “Spring can really hang you up the most” which consisted of 3/4 time and 4/4 time. This started with a female solo vocalist then a male one. The band as a whole played together and ended with a male solo scatting. The third and shortest performance of the night was a vocal acapella piece, “Love walked in” which was short and sweet. The fourth performance of the night was a Richmond Rogers piece. This had a rhythmic swing/salsa feel from the “Lady is a tramp”. This started with the rhythm section, with the male vocalist and horns. Then the female vocalist from the choir joined and concluded this piece. The fifth performance for the group was a sequel to voice stand an acapella piece by Greg Jaspers. This song started with the choir using their voices as the instruments altogether. The final performance of the night was one of

This afternoon, I went to the music concert hall where is located in the music building for the listening hour, a small noon-time concert which is performed by the staff and students from the music majors. Since it is a free noon-time concert, most of the audiences just wear the t-shirts and jeans to the concert. Dresses are not required for the concert. The performance today is given by the Ananda Jazz Ensemble. They have played “Running Away”, composed by Bob Marley; “Madalena”, composed by Ivan Linz; “Conejitos y Ananda”, composed by Abi Romero; “La Bikina”, composed by Ruben Fuentes; and “Chukaro”, also composed by Abi Romero. Because this is a Latin Americdan Journey, all of the music performed is jazz music. All pieces played in the concert are an ensemble of piano, bass, and drums. During the concert, I was trying to be a perceptive listener; I enjoyed the music with concentration and paid attention to the music’s unity and variety, such as the dynamics and tempos. I also tried to associate the music with a picture when I listened to it and understand the emotion in the music.