Concert Report #3

On November 20^th, 2013 at 8:15. I attended a Jazz concert that was really good. The conductor’s name is Greg Evans.

The first tune that was played was “This could be the start of something big”. I asked myself noticing the name of the song; how come is it named this way if it only has music and no lyrics. I noticed though that they were playing something familiar, only the different instruments were playing the melody. So in my mind, I figured that this song indeed has lyrics to it, only that the wind instruments and a little bit of the piano carried the melody. The trumpets, saxophones and trombones alternated different parts of the melody; in addition they included some improvisations to it while playing somewhat of the melody.

            Something that really stood out to me was the conductor. Unlike a conductor of an orchestra, this conductor for some reason seemed more free and flexible. I am not sure if there is a difference between an orchestra conductor and a jazz conductor. I mean they are both conductors regardless. However the things that stood out from this conductor, is how Greg pointed out different instruments to come in and improvise when he wanted to, in addition to when a particular player wanted a turn to improvise. As a matter a fact, that made the songs even more fun and entertaining to listen.

My favorite song that was played that night was the last piece called “ The Kid From Red Bank”. As soon as I heard the conductor snap his fingers in a fast meter, I knew this song was going to be a fun one. This song featured the piano playing more of the melody than the rest of the instruments. This piece actually reminded me so much of the track “ Hey Pachuco” by Royal Crown Revenue, from the movie “The Mask”. It’s a really up moving song to dance to. I almost felt like dancing when I heard this song. My favorite part of that song was the ending because there was a lot of crescendo in the end that just sounded incredible! In addition, after the audience started clapping, I noticed that the conductor gave a sign to the band with his hands that looked like the letter C. I already assumed that he gave that sign to state a coda, and I was right! This would not happen in an orchestra band, not that I know of. This is why I liked this song.

I really liked this concert that I will definitely go to another one. I was actually nearly in front of all the rows, that no one was in front of me or beside me. It was as if this concert was for me! There is nothing that I did not like about the concert, if anything, I wish more people went to this concert to appreciate it as I did.