Jazz Esamble Essay, Research Paper
The latest concert that I attended was the NEIU Jazz Ensemble. It was
held on October 28th, 1997 in the NEIU auditorium. This was my first time
attending a Jazz concert. Therefore, I didn?t know what kind of music to
expect or any music that I was familiar to. This concert was a new
experience for me. It was far different from a rock concert held in some big
venue. The purpose of this concert was to give people a taste of the NEIU
Jazz Ensemble. The heritage or the background of this concert was strictly
Jazz music.
I was excited about my attendance at this concert. It would be the first
time I was going to a Jazz concert. I knew that I wouldn?t be disappointed or
get board there. The music they played was not the kind that makes you dose
off. I always loved the sound of a trumpet. My favorite musical group the
Dave Matthews Band has a trumpet player, and this is how I started enjoying
the sound. Therefore, I knew that this concert must be worth going to. This
concert gave me a chance to look more deep into what Jazz music is all
about.
The music that was performed was Jazz. The entire Ensemble had
fifteen people in it. There were only fourteen actual performers. One guy
was the director of the whole thing and he was composing. The composer
composed with his hands instead of a composing stick. This was an
interesting observation for me. The instrument that were used at this concert
were the Woodwinds which had five players on it. This was the most players
in one category of instruments. The Woodwind players were seated in the
first row. Other instruments used were the Piano, Bass, Drums, Trombones
and the Trumpets. There was one vocalist. There were two Trombone
players and three Trumpet players. They were all standing behind the
Woodwind players. The Piano, Bass, and the Drums were on the left side of
the stage. The composer was facing the performers during a song. After a
song was over the composer turned around to the audience and bowed.
The concert lasted about one hour. It started at 7:30 p.m. and went on
till about 8:35 p.m. There were seven songs that were performed. Every
song was around ten minutes long. Some were a little shorter about five to
six minutes in length and a couple songs were a little over ten minutes. The
concert seemed to be well organized time wise and convenient wise. The
concert was free admission and general seating. This was there only concert
at NEIU for the fall semester.
The music performed was done in a formal fashion. The performers
seem to take pride in what they were doing and also what they were
representing. Each performer were introduced individually by the composer.
The composer also told the audience about their background and what the
performers were majoring in. All but one of the performers were getting
certified to teach music. Most of the performers were wearing a shirt and tie
outfit. Some of them were wearing a full suit. None of the performers were
in jeans from what I observed. The composer was wearing a Tuxedo.
The Jazz Ensemble had a very mature gesture. They were all seated in
a good position. Nobody seemed to be slouching down. The composer
seemed to be very energetic. They took great care of their belongings. The
instruments, when not being played during a song, were placed on the ground
very gently. The Trumpets and Trombones were usually placed on the side of
the person who was using it. They were placed in an upright position.
Nobody went berserks in excitement and tossed their instruments. This kind
of situation happens in a typical heavy Rock concert. In a concert such as the
Jazz Ensemble it would be humiliation and an embarrassment if a performer
were to throw the instrument around in excitement. It would not even seem
right if that were to happen because of the formality of the concert. Another
good aspect about the gesture of the Ensemble was that they were well
prepared. Nobody was out of tune and the notes seemed to sound very clear.
Every member of the Ensemble was reading the musical notes instead of
playing it by ear. The notes were placed in front of them on a stand.
The communication between the performers and the audience were
very good. The audience didn?t applaud throughout the entire concert. They
only applauded when it was appropriate. One of the things I found unique
and interesting was that the composer indicated to the audience when it was
appropriate to applauded. During the middle of a song the composer would
make a half turn to the left and start clapping his hands. When the composer
clapped the audience clapped along with him. This indicated the appropriate
time for the audience to applaud.
The concert was held in the NEIU Auditorium. It wasn?t that big of an
auditorium. It looked like the lecture hall that this class is being conducted in.
The auditorium was dark during the performance. The stage was very well
lit. The lighting mostly consisted of a white color. This made the stage
appear bright and very clean. The background was of a blue and orange
color. There was no smoking or drinking allowed in this venue. The seats
were cushioned and they were typical auditorium seats which folded up
automatically. I was seated in the middle section of the auditorium. In the
very back there was a camera man recording the entire concert.
The audience participated throughout the concert. None of the
audience members seemed to be board at their presence at this concert. They
only applauded at the composers signal and applauded again at the end of the
song. Nobody was being disrupted during the performance. Everyone was
seated throughout the entire concert. Most of the people in the audience were
college students. There were a few Senior Citizens and a few other older
adults. The audience didn?t dress as formally as the performers. They were
dressed more casually. There weren?t too many people at this concert. There
were more empty seats than filled ones. However, considering that this
concert was on a weeknight and their first time performing at NEIU this year,
I didn?t expect too many people to be present. When the word gets out on
how good they were, I think that they will have a larger audience for next
semester shows. In all, the audience was very well behaved and their
presence was very satisfying to the performers.
This concert had a good effect on me. My sole reason for going was to
get an insight of what Jazz music is really like. When I got there I really liked
what I heard. I am going to look more into this type of music. This is the
type of music that you just want to sit back and relax and listen. It?s not to
slow where you are at the point of falling asleep. Jazz music has got a certain
element to it that no other type of music that I have heard thus far have. In
all, this concert was a wonderful experience for me. I found a passion for a
different brand of music.
NEIU Jazz Ensemble
Concert Report #4
11/04/97