School Music Concert Performance

During the final week of classes at Truman, I had the pleasure of hearing the school’s jazz bands in concert. During the concert, the Jazz Lab band and the Jazz Ensemble, both directed by Tim AuBuchon, played several jazz standards and modern favorites. The Jazz Lab band started out the night with five big band pieces. The instrumentation of the Jazz Lab band was standard for a big band; it included about four of each horn (saxophone, trumpet, and trombone), an upright bass, a piano, and a drumset. The group played several big band standards like Take the A-Train, the famous song originally played by Duke Ellington’s big band and sung by Ella Fitzgerald. Since there were no vocalists in the band, every song was arranged as an instrumental. The set was kicked off by a tune written by shorty rogers, …show more content…
This piece featured a saxophone solo utilizing a mute. The Lab Band often used mutes in the set, creating many lovely and gentle solos. The next song, also originally sung by Ella Fitzgerald, Lullaby of Birdland, featured a unique change in instrumentation. Chimes were added as a melody instrument, and it created a unique rendition of the standard. Lullaby of Birdland also featured the only drum solo in the set, as well as a trumpet solo, and a melodic saxophone solo. The arrangement, done by Mark Taylor, differed from the original as it was very inspired by Latin jazz. In addition the band played the Benny Carter ballad Who’s Blue which featured one of many unorthodox but well done trombone solos. The group's last piece, Shake It But Don’t Break It, featured a heavy swing beat and ended the entire set with a short piano solo before the brass blasted