Jazz Concert Emphasizes Variety, Improvisation
Featuring a variety of styles ranging from funk to Latin, the Alma College Jazz Ensemble’s fall concert promises to be fresh from start to finish.
The Jazz Ensemble will perform at 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov 13th in the Remick Heritage Center. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors 62 and up, and free for Alma College staff, students, and youth 18 and under. Call (989) 463-7304 for ticket information.
The program consists of nine pieces that emphasize the diversity of the jazz sound from legends like Frank Zappa, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington.
“We have a great selection of songs for this concert,” says freshman trumpeter Jacob Schmeltzer. “I’m looking forward to performing ‘Big Swing Face’ because big band swing was the first kind of jazz I started listening to, and I feel right at home with the music.”
Jazz pieces are known for their flourishes and signature sound — much of which are technically difficult, especially when combined with jazz’s trademark tendency for improvisation, says Schmeltzer.
“My favorite part about playing jazz is improvisation,” says Schmeltzer. “It gives a jazz musician freedom to express music to a different level. Although I play other styles of music, jazz has been the most influential on me, because the skills I have learned while studying jazz have helped me immensely.”
Senior percussionist David Fair credits the enthusiasm of the student musicians for expressing the freedom and expressiveness of jazz.
“I’ve always been inspired by jazz musicians because of their virtuosity and feel,” says Fair.
Posted: Thu, November 3rd, 2011 at 2:53PM
