Jazz Esamble Essay Research Paper The latest

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