Jazz band packs Given Auditorium, does not disappoint audience
Amanda Mello
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Last Saturday evening people flocked to Given Auditorium to watch Colby Jazz Band perform. The group, led by Director of Band Activities Eric Thomas, put on an excellent performance entitled Some of That Funky Stuff.
Thomas explained that when selecting pieces for the Jazz Band, he tries to "expose students and audience to a wide variety of styles, vehicles, moods, different keys, level of difficulty, historical context and arrangers." Thomas then reads available published works and uses the band's first rehearsal to read through the music and see what can be accomplished by the group. He explained that "while jazz is an American art form it is also a mixture of cultural styles and the mixture between Latin and Jazz has always been of real interest to me."
The jazz band opened the night with "Emancipation Blues," a smooth piece with a slight swing feel. The piece had a steady background beat with focus on the saxophone, including a solo from Danny Herrick '08. The piece was a very effective one to open the night, bringing the audience immediately into the feel of jazz and swing music.
Later, the band played "I've Got it Bad (And that Ain't Good)," with vocalist Kathleen Fallon '10. Combined with Fallon's outstanding voice, the band transported the audience to a jazz club, making it easy to forget the walls of Given Auditorium. The band played quietly in the background, driving the focus to Fallon who looked as though she felt every part of the music and lyrics. Thomas explained that "her sound is so accurate," which in turn drew the audience into the silent marvel during the piece.
The African Drumming Ensemble, led by Jordan Benissan (who is in his ninth year directing African Drumming at Colby) joined the group during the second half. They wore traditional West African dress (specifically from Ghana and Togo), worn for singing, dancing and drumming. Benissan, in a later interview, explained that in the drums "you see difference because in West Africa there is a great deal of diversity among the people living there and each group has their own traditional music, style and drums." He said within the African Drumming Ensemble they cover the Ashanti, Yoruba, Eweand Ga peoples. Benissan explained that it is a very long and complex process to learn African drumming as students must also learn and understand the culture to see how the different rhythms work. Benissan explained, "The challenge posed to non-African audiences is the music requires the audience to be intellectually knowledgeable of the music because it is very complex and sophisticated to understand how the rhythm shifts work with one another."
Thomas explained that when selecting pieces for the Jazz Band, he tries to "expose students and audience to a wide variety of styles, vehicles, moods, different keys, level of difficulty, historical context and arrangers." Thomas then reads available published works and uses the band's first rehearsal to read through the music and see what can be accomplished by the group. He explained that "while jazz is an American art form it is also a mixture of cultural styles and the mixture between Latin and Jazz has always been of real interest to me."
The jazz band opened the night with "Emancipation Blues," a smooth piece with a slight swing feel. The piece had a steady background beat with focus on the saxophone, including a solo from Danny Herrick '08. The piece was a very effective one to open the night, bringing the audience immediately into the feel of jazz and swing music.
Later, the band played "I've Got it Bad (And that Ain't Good)," with vocalist Kathleen Fallon '10. Combined with Fallon's outstanding voice, the band transported the audience to a jazz club, making it easy to forget the walls of Given Auditorium. The band played quietly in the background, driving the focus to Fallon who looked as though she felt every part of the music and lyrics. Thomas explained that "her sound is so accurate," which in turn drew the audience into the silent marvel during the piece.
The African Drumming Ensemble, led by Jordan Benissan (who is in his ninth year directing African Drumming at Colby) joined the group during the second half. They wore traditional West African dress (specifically from Ghana and Togo), worn for singing, dancing and drumming. Benissan, in a later interview, explained that in the drums "you see difference because in West Africa there is a great deal of diversity among the people living there and each group has their own traditional music, style and drums." He said within the African Drumming Ensemble they cover the Ashanti, Yoruba, Eweand Ga peoples. Benissan explained that it is a very long and complex process to learn African drumming as students must also learn and understand the culture to see how the different rhythms work. Benissan explained, "The challenge posed to non-African audiences is the music requires the audience to be intellectually knowledgeable of the music because it is very complex and sophisticated to understand how the rhythm shifts work with one another."
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Pauline Cartolaro
posted 11/16/07 @ 2:23 PM EST
Your reporter Amamda Mello did such an excellent job of describing the Jazz and African music, that I felt as I was reading the article, I was sitting in the audience experiencing the event. (Continued…)
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