Reflection On The Jazz Ensembles Concert

I attended the Jazz Ensembles Concert on Wednesday, September the 30th at the Griffin Concert Hall. The show was divided into two sections, Jazz Ensembles II which was directed by Will Swindler and Jazz Ensembles I which was directed by Peter Sommer. The music in the both shows were inspired by the work of the bandleader of Jazz orchestras that is Duke Ellington. The concert hall was filled with people following their passion for Jazz, expecting a state of the art performance by the ensembles whom did not disappoint by carrying an outstanding display throughout the show. The atmosphere at the hall was extraordinary as the attendance truly unveiled their excitement and love for jazz with continuous support and applause of every piece of art. It was the first time for me to attend a Jazz concert and I enjoyed it a lot, both ensembles made my experience unforgettable and made me appreciate the jazz genre a lot more.
The Jazz Ensembles II started the show and played 7 pieces in total in which I’ll only thoroughly discuss one: Sepia Panorama. The

piece that is Sepia Panorama was arranged by Duke Ellington, directed by Will Swindler and consisted of 6 players: Michael Rinko played Bass, Kelan Rooney played trombone, Matthew Chanlynn played trumpet, Jimmy Ackermann played baritone saxophone, Stephanie Kaiser was on the piano, and Garret Revelle played tenor saxophone. The piece started with an allegro tempo and then we noticed a crescendo from the guitar solo by Michael Rinko to the trombone played by Kelan Rooney, it went from mezzoforte to forte. After that there was a decrescendo from the piano solo by Stephanie Kaiser who brought the tempo down to adagio with a pianissimo dynamic followed by a bright mezzopiano baritone saxophone solo. The piece ended with a spectacular duet between the piano and bass players in which we witnessed a combination of a presto tempo and a fortissimo dynamic which was the highlight of the piece for me. After the end of the Jazz Ensembles II part of the show, the director Will Swindler briefly talked about the life of Duke Ellington and his contributions to Jazz music and then ensembles left the stage with loud cheers and applause.
Then the Jazz Ensemble I went up the stage to complete the show and played another 8 pieces in which I will only thoroughly discuss one: Happy-Go-Lucky Local.

The first piece that is Happy-Go-Lucky Local was by Duke Ellington, directed by Peter Sommer and played by: Laurel Mayhew on the piano, Jordan Asker with the bass, and Oren Logan with the alto saxophone. This piece amazed me because it started with a brilliant duet between the piano player Laurel Mayhew and bass player Jordan Asker. The brassy forte dynamic and allegro tempo of the piano intertwined with the bright mezzopiano dynamic and grave tempo of the bass yielded something quite extraordinary. The piece ended with a crescendo as Oren Logan performed a heavy alto saxophone solo which had a forte dynamic and allegretto tempo. This Ensemble seemed more skilled and experienced to me judging by how well coordinated they were and how the perfected every piece the

played.
In conclusion, both ensembles produced outstanding music and perfected the work of Duke Ellington. Attending this concert allowed me to explore Jazz music a lot more and made me more familiar with different kinds of instruments that are played in a Jazz concert. I fully enjoyed the audience’s reaction and appreciation to the music throughout the show. After the concert, I looked up the history of Jazz music and listened to Duke Ellington’s pieces throughout the night.