Longwood University’s Jazz Ensemble B kicked off their winter concert on Thursday in Jarman Auditorium with a leisurely piece by Chris Gordon titled “Blue Rain.” The song featured a relaxing blues melody carried throughout almost every instrument at one point.
Before moving into their next piece, “Train Reaction,” Director Andrew Brock gave a lovely introduction of the soloists and members of the ensemble.
“Train Reaction” quickly changed the pace of the concert with a more upbeat melody. The piece featured beautiful, melodic solos on alto saxophone, trumpet and baritone saxophone along with an enthusiastic drum solo by Spencer Smith. There were many suspenseful moments and accented sections that kept the audience on their toes.
For their last piece, Jazz Ensemble B took on a classic crowd pleaser entitled “Children of Sanchez,” featuring a beautiful flugelhorn solo by Cory Anderson. The lights were dimmed to a yellow tint and the band eagerly embarked on a bright and repetitive theme that continued to occur throughout the piece.
Pianist Adam Stratton kept the time with repeating low notes while the song featured an intense drum solo and alto and tenor saxophone solos. Before their sudden ending and a giant round of applause, the band came back together to repeat the theme once more.
After a quick set change, Jazz Ensemble A took the stage by storm with a quickly moving piece called “A Night in Tunisia” by Dizzy Gillespie.
Tyler Gage took the lead early on with a high and very involved trumpet solo that left audience members speechless. The entire band then joined together for a high and bright transition into the next set of solos.
Miguel Gavilan then took over with a saxophone solo, and he was quickly followed by Michael Velez on trombone. After a few teasers, the ensemble brought this exciting piece to a close.
The mood of the concert settled down a bit for the next piece, “Six P.M.,” beginning with a calm melody. Many soloists from “A Night in Tunisia” were featured again in this piece, but with a completely different type of sound.
Following “Six P.M.,” Jazz Ensemble A introduced an early jazz piece entitled “St. Louis Blues,” which began slowly with a more raspy sound.
Gage interrupted with a high and quickly moving trumpet solo while the band continued to maintain a melody around his part. The song quickly changed from sad and bluesy to a more dramatic and “in your face” type feeling.
As the concert gradually brought itself to a close, Jazz Ensemble A played a George and Ira Gershwin piece that featured Amanda Nazario on a beautiful vocal solo. It was a romantic song that succeeded in emphasizing that even though lovers may be pulled apart, nothing can take away the memories.
To close out the concert, Jazz Ensemble A played their last piece, “Feather Report” by Kris Berg. This piece changed the overall feeling of the concert again with its mixed meter and its interesting hip hop and swing groove.
Needless to say, it was a wonderful concert and a great evening, full of many fun, but incredibly different songs, and countless talented young musicians.
