For this critique, I was fortunate enough to attend a jazz performance by Deborah Davis and Ben Rosenblum. Davis was the vocalist and Rosenblum was the pianist. This concert was part of a jazz concert series presented by Preservation New Jersey and the New Jersey Jazz Society. I enjoyed this performance because I was able to witness a professional pianist play up close in a relaxed setting. I was seated in the second pew of the sanctuary, directly in view of Rosenblum’s hands as he performed. This allowed me to not only listen to Rosenblum’s music, but also view his technique and positions throughout the performance. In addition, I am not often able to witness professional jazz performances, but I look forward to attending more in the future.
It was apparent that Rosenblum was familiar with the Sanctuary’s community because as soon as he entered, he began talking to each of the audience members he recognized. Though I had never witnessed one of his performances, he also said a simple greeting to me as he walked past. Davis followed suit when she entered the Sanctuary. She sat down with Rosenblum in one of the pews to catch up with the current events of audience member’s lives. This pre-show element made the experience even more welcoming, relaxing, and friendly. Once it was time for the concert to begin, the director of the Sanctuary introduced each performer. Once Davis and Rosenblum were settled, Davis explained how the concert was going to be a calm and fun night. She chatted with the audience talking about her preparation for the night and how excited she was to be visiting the Sanctuary with Rosenblum. Throughout the concert, Davis would tell little stories or continue speaking to the audience in between pieces. This incorporated the audience into the concert and created a friendly relationship between performers and audience. Finally, Rosenblum and Davis made decisions on what pieces they would play in the moment. After each ended, they would ask what the other felt like performing next. Most often they chose their favorites or had specific pieces in mind. Occasionally, Rosenblum would simply begin playing a piece,
Throughout the performance, Rosenblum and Davis exposed the audience to both upbeat jazz and more smooth jazz. I attribute the clear distinctions between each piece to Rosenblum’s technique. In the middle of each piece, there would be a section where Rosenblum would play the piano as a solo. These were Rosenblum’s opportunities to showcase his talent and run away with his emotions within each piece. During some like “On the Sunny Side of the Street”, arranged by Davis, Rosenblum would use runs, staccato, and fast tempos to create a happy or joyful feeling. In addition, Rosenblum would vary between ranges from mezzo piano to forte depending on the mood of the piece and Davis’ vocal dynamics at any given time. For more serious or mellow pieces such as “Solitude”, originally composed by Duke Ellington, Rosenblum mostly played legato and remained at piano and mezzo piano for dynamics. It appeared as if Rosenblum improvised many of his solo sections during each piece. Rosenblum only ever had one or two sheets of music on the stand at any given time, while the pieces themselves were much longer. The mystery of wondering how Rosenblum would play whenever he took over the reins enhanced the excitement and general experience listening to each piece. Rosenblum truly demonstrated who he was as a performer during his solos and let the audience see his emotions with every note he
On November 16th, 2013, I attended a concert choir, fall choral concert. This event took place on the Wheaton College Campus, in the Edman Chapel at 7:30 pm. The chapel was well-lit, with long pews for the audience to be seated. The concert began with the audience looking up into a balcony, where the ensemble stood in neat rows. They watched the conductor, who stood on a stage in front of the audience, waiting for their cue.
The concert is performed by the Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. The video of this concert is 90 minutes in length. The concert was an ensemble of various Dave Brubeck arrangements utilizing various jazz techniques and styles with mainly the following instruments: bass, piano, trumpet, trombone, tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto sax, flute, piccolo, baritone sax, drum, and tambourine. The performance included these 15 pieces: “Unsquare Dance”, “Three to Get Ready”, “The Duke”, “Cassandra”, “Strange Meadowlark”, “Who Will Take Care of Me?”, “It’s a Raggy Waltz”, “Tokyo Traffic”, “Take Five”, “Lost Waltz”, “Upstage Rhumba”, “In Your Own Sweet Way”, “Fast Life”, “Bluette”, and “Blue Rondo a la Turk”. The performance highlights the versatile, influential and extraordinary life’s work of Dave Brubeck.
Music is magical: it soothes you when you are upset and cheers you up when you are down. To me, it is a communication with souls. I listen to different genres of music. When appreciating each form of music, with its unique rhythm and melody, I expect to differentiate each other by the feelings and emotions that it brings to me. However, I would definitely never call myself “a fan of jazz” until I witnessed Cécile McLorin Salvant’s performance last Friday at Mondavi Center. Through the interpretations and illustrations from Cécile’s performance, I realized that the cultural significance and individual identity are the building blocks of jazz music that create its unique musical features and support its development.
The Jazz Age was one of the many highlights of the 1920’s before the stock market crash that triggered the start of the Great Depression in 1929. Because of the distress that the American soldiers faced during World War 1, many of them returned questioning the true meaning of life. Their solution was to recklessly enjoy their lives since you only live once. A completely new culture bloomed during the decade through it’s new music, crazy dancing and brand new atmosphere. While the country seemed to be rather optimistic as a whole during the 1920’s, this decade actually had quite a few issues. Although the United States demonstrated confidence throughout the decade, there were many situations in which the country experienced disillusionment and isolation.
On Tuesday, October 17, 2017, I attended a musical concert. This was the first time I had ever been to a concert and did not play. The concert was not what I expected. I assumed I was going to a symphony that featured a soloist clarinet; however, upon arrival I quickly realized that my previous assumptions were false. My experience was sort of a rollercoaster. One minute I was down and almost asleep; next I was laughing; then I was up and intrigued.
Teachout, Terry. "John Hammond's jazz." Commentary 122.3 (2006): 55+. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
After a short introduction, Andy Baker began the concert by playing the song “Sedentary Motion” composed by Tom Garling. The style of the song was set in an easy modern Samba feel, the music lines were smooth and the chord voicings were merged to produce a gentle, yet complex conversation between sections of the jazz ensemble. As the chords were free and unrestrained, the solo performance of the tenor saxophone and trumpet were able to stand out and present their ideas. The drummer accompanied them throughout the whole song, which makes the song sound more colorful. The tempo of “Sedentary Motion” was set in an easy medium tempo, and the whole song lasted for over nine minutes.
By the end of World War I, Black Americans were facing their lowest point in history since slavery. Most of the blacks migrated to the northern states such as New York and Chicago. It was in New York where the “Harlem Renaissance” was born. This movement with jazz was used to rid of the restraints held against African Americans. One of the main reasons that jazz was so popular was that it allowed the performer to create the rhythm. With This in Mind performers realized that there could no...
...ked throughout the concert. The pacing of the selections seemed appropriate. No piece sounded like the one before it. There was a great variety of songs played. There were songs played that were written by famous jazz composers and songs played that were written by some of the performers themselves. This added to the excitement of the show.
Jazz music prospered in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Jazz was created by African Americans to represent pain and suffering and also represented the adversity that racial tension brought. (Scholastic) African American performers like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie “Bird” Parker came to be recognized for their ability to overcome “race relati...
I enjoy and listen to variety of music from classical music to rap music. I have attended many concerts, mostly symphony bands concerts. However, interestingly, through whole my life, I have never experienced jazz music and I have never been to jazz concert. Therefore, it was hard for me to decide which jazz concerts would give me most pleasure and exciting experience. I researched for jazz concerts listing and I have decided to go to the Ron Eschete Trio Concerts because it was held closed to my house and was free.
The jazz band I observed played a series of six different songs. Although all the songs were categorized as jazz, each song had its own special style and sound to it. The band consisted of three different players. Paul Meyers, the guitarist and composer, Andy Eulau, the bassist, and Dave Rataczak, on drums. The songs performed were entitled “Love for Sale” by Cole Porter, “Once I Loved” by Antonio Carlos Jobim, “Stars” by Paul Meyers, “Blues for Mel” also by Paul Meyers, “Last Night When We Were Young” by Harold Arlen, and “Samba Novo” by Luis Eca.
I attended the Los Angeles Philharmonic classical music concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Friday 29 November 2013. The classical concert started at 8:00pm to the enjoyment of the huge audience that had been waiting for this amazing music extravaganza. Classical music concerts always offer magnificent entertainment and the audience in this concert was expectant to derive such entertainment or more. In attendance were Christian Zacharias who was the conductor and Martin Chalifour who was the LA Phil commanding Principal Concertmaster and Bach violin player. In readiness for the concert, I enjoyed a special dinner prepared for the audience. More specifically, LA Phil staffer introduced us to the evening classical concert amidst cheers from the audience. It was such a refreshing and joyous feeling to be part of this audience.
Jazz is one of the most popular music in the world, which represents satisfaction and encouragement. There’re lots of styles in jazz because it’s cultural melting pot and emerges from a combination of brass bands, blues, and the party atmosphere. This first American type of music always drew attention from all around the world and it’s also is mixing funk and R&B rhythms and amplification and electronic effects of rock music nowadays. For myselves, as a international student study abord, sometimes sympathetic with some jazz artist because as a foreigner living in American, always have some emotion went on. Therefore, my roomates and me went to a jazz resterant called redwhite+blues. Which located at 37 S El Molino Ave, Pasadena. There was a
Then audience members who were perfect strangers who were screaming loudest would turn to each other with knowing glances and smile because they were sharing the same excitement and connecting with one another over their love of this man’s music. There was no pushing or shoving to get closer to the stage – it wasn’t that kind of crowd. Instead, there was mutual respect for one another’s space within the confines of the too-small venue. Nobody wanted to be the person who ruined it for someone else. It was this respect that made the audience members’ connections with one another that much stronger – we were all here to listen to this wonderful man’s music and see his performance – and, of course, we were here to enjoy it.