How does one perfect the art of improvisation? As Commercial Music Studies Director Dan Cole demonstrated with his students at Saturday’s jazz concert, simply take the lead of jazz legends and play with heart.Ten music students intently watched Cole in LL130 as he led on guitar the opening song, “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Any doubts cast by the concert’s obscure location (a dark section of the parking lot) or small turnout disappeared as soon as the music started. While still a familiar tune, “Saints” changed form as each musician performed his or her own solo.
Two memorable “Saints” performances came from Andrea Baker, on violin, and Curtis Ulin, on guitar.
Baker brought sweetness and charm in her interpretation while Ulin did the opposite, baring his rock influences, being careful not to hog the spotlight. The dramatic drum solo, courtesy of Joshua Miza, energized the piece and elevated it beyond its traditional melodies.
Cole identified the challenge of improvising during live performances and how to best prepare for the unexpected.
“How do you practice well for improvisations? Because it’s extemporaneous, you don’t have a tangible body of music in front of you to read off,” Cole said. “We had to see how the greatest musicians improvised, studying previous compositions and listening to a lot of recordings.”
An end-of-semester showcase of students’ improvisation skills, the concert drew a small but devoted audience of family and friends.
The brief but pleasant concert continued with three other songs, “I Got Rhythm” by George Gershwin, “Ornithology” by Charlie Parker and the blues-tinged “Sonnymoon for Two” by Sonny Rollins.
Throughout these pieces, each student displayed her or his musical talents while contributing to the ensemble as a whole.
Every time the deep-chested Luis Caceras took up his tenor saxophone, he sent chills through every audience member’s spine with his soulful renditions.
After Miza performed a classic final drum solo to end the concert, Ulin reflected on the knowledge he gained from the class.
“It’s fun to make it up,” Ulin said. “When [you] think [about] writing a poem, would you rather memorize a poem or come up with one yourself?”
As the concert showed, on-the-spot creativity can be enjoyable for musicians and the audience.
Charles Elder, bass, Joshua Miza, drums, and Luis Caceras, tenor sax, perform in front of a small crowd of friends and family at the Jazz Ensemble in LL130 on Friday. (Louis C. Cheung)
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