On March 24 at 7:00 P.M. I went to see University Jazz Combos at the University of Louisville in Byrd Recital Hall. The groups were the Bud Shank Combo, the Ornette Coleman Combo, and the International Combo. The Bud Shank Combo consisted of, Jean Gorce, Justin Huff, Chris Rolseland, Tyrone Wheeler, Johnny Chai, and Sam Broussard. The Ornette Coleman Combo consisted of, Nick Kaizer, Dylon Jones, Ethan Evans, Kendall Carter, Sean Sullivan, Rafael Lopez, Ben Hogan, and P. McGuffey. The International Combo consisted of, Thiago Fernandes, Diego Lyra, Claudia Martinez, Jose Oreta, and Israel Cuenca.
Every single one of these combos was played very well and made me want to hear more of it. All of the music was very soothing and really made me feel relaxed as I listened to it. As always the best feature of the Jazz Combo is how everyone has a solo part in every song. To be honest, I liked the trumpet solos in each song. I felt like they were on top of their game and performed at a maximum level.
The first song I heard was “Fried Bananas”, by Dexter Gordon. The Bud Shank Combo performed this song. The texture in this jazz piece seemed to be heterophonic like all jazz music. The character of this piece appeared to have a somewhat soothing feeling. Honestly, at some points in the song I felt the trumpet soloist was maybe trying too hard on the instrument and made him mess up on a few notes. It was actually relatively difficult to find the downbeat in this song. The notes seemed like they were all over the place and a variety of chords were being used. It seemed to be on a very minor scale and was not very pleasing to listen to.
The tempo was nothing special, sure it was somewhat ecstatic at some parts, but overall it was kind of slow. This piece seemed to have flowed together pretty well, but it could have been better. I really wish the solos were performed in different order. The piece would have definitely come together more this way. The second piece I observed was called “Why Not Indianapolis”; J.J. Johnson composed it.
This piece varied a lot from the first one. The tempo was a lot more exciting and made me want to stand up and follow the rhythm of the piece. As usual, a variety of chords were used and the way these chords were used made the piece sound very good. Unlike the first piece, this one flowed together very well until the very end of the song. The soloists were absolutely incredible. I actually believe the bass player, Tyrone Wheeler, performed the greatest solo in this piece. It was definitely a good team of instruments, which included, the trumpet, saxophone, guitar, bass, and drums. I really enjoyed the tone color of this piece.
It seemed to be sustained and very light, however it had just enough to make me excited about hearing the music. The next piece of music was called “Moontrane”, by Woody Shaw. The Ornette Coleman Combo performed it. The melody in this piece was very constant. It was like the whole tune was repeating itself, except for some reason, it sounded better each time.
The melody and harmony appeared to be moving in the same rhythm throughout most of the song. Everything really just seemed to move together very well throughout the whole song. I once again enjoyed the tone color, which was much more mellow than the first two pieces. The melody was definitely conjunct meaning everything was close together and moved very well.
It is often said disjunct melodies often give off a more distinct sound, however in this piece, conjunct melody composed a very beautiful and somewhat distinct sound. I really loved how the performers played in a very mechanical manner, which added even more to the piece. The fourth piece was “Fly Little Bird”, and the Ornette Coleman Combo played The texture of this piece, again, was heterophonic. However, there seemed to be some homophonic texture thrown in as well. Obviously there were two parts, which were moving together within the harmony. The instruments consisted of the trumpet, saxophone, trombone, piano, guitar, bass, and drums.
It was definitely conjunct. This was the first time in my life I had ever heard a trombone being played. The trombone sounded absolutely crystal clear. When the trombone solo was being performed all I could think about was how clear and precise it was being played. The melody was absolutely awesome and moved together very well. It was a very good choice deciding to use the trombone in this particular piece. The character of this piece was very exciting and ecstatic. I really felt like the music moved me for the first time ever. The next performance was “Virenes a las 4”, by Claudia Martinez. The International Combo performed this piece of music.
The tempo in this particular piece was definitely allegro. It was a very cheerful piece, which is actually what the word allegro means. The tone color was very exciting and rich. Of all of the pieces performed, this one was definitely the most exciting. The homophonic texture mixed with the variety of chords used really made this piece form together very well towards the end.
The downbeat was astonishingly easy to find in this piece. It involved a lot of crescendo. For the first time the whole night one of the players on the stage was actually kind of dancing when the pianist was performing his solo. It was as if the whole mood of the entire theatre was changed while this piece was being performed. All together the character of this song made me very excited and made blood rush through my veins. The final performance was titled, “Situations”, by Thiago Fernandes. It was actually very sad because Diego Lyra, the pianists, announced that this was probably the last song he would ever be playing because he was moving on to bigger things.
The tone color of the piece really stood out to me. It was very light and muted. I wanted more, but I simply couldn’t get it. The conjunct form really made the piece better and I think it even made the melody and harmony move more together in a way. The character was very low and quiet. It was a very solid piece; it was just not as exciting as some of the previous pieces had been.
Rarely, there were not really a variety of chords during the whole song. I found this odd because most jazz pieces I listen to usually have a variety of chords. The tempo was definitely more on the down low and was definitely relative to the tone color. Again, I believe the mechanical manner in which the composers played really made the song sound a lot better. In conclusion, this performance was definitely a very good one. Since the previous jazz concert I went to was a lot better than expected, I had very high expectations for this one. One thing I really enjoyed about this concert was how mixed the songs were.
One song could be calm and soothing and all of the sudden, the next song would make you want to get up and start dancing! The performers definitely performed at maximum potential and played the songs very well. The solos were some of the best ones I had ever heard in my life. The instruments that were used were different than what I was used to and really added to the concert.
It was my first time ever hearing a trombone being played at a live concert, and I have to say I really enjoyed listening to it. Another awesome thing about this concert is that it was Diego Lyra’s last time playing. I thought it was pretty cool getting to see someone perform for the last time. I have never in my life heard so many different tempos, melodies, and tone colors thrown together in on concert. My experiences at these concerts just keep getting better and better. All three of these combos performed exceptionally well and I look forward to going to more Jazz Combos in the near future.
