Students and members of the faculty perform at the Jazz Showcase on Monday night at the von der Mehden Recital Hall.

Students Showcase Jazz

By: Eric Nigosanti

Posted: 9/25/07

More so than any other music genre jazz is very difficult to define. What makes jazz jazz? In any case what can be agreed upon is that jazz has numerous ways of being expressed, several of which were on display last night by UConn students at the von der Mehden Recital Hall.

The jazz showcase began with the 10-piece Jazz Ensemble, directed by Earl MacDonald who is also the director of jazz studies here at UConn. The Ensemble featured many instruments including a trumpet, French horn, string bass, piano, and a range of soprano, alto, and baritone saxophones. From the start of their first piece, the fusion style "Group Therapy," by Jim McNeely the audience could tell that this was going to be a different kind of performance than what they were used to seeing from their high school band. Gone are the matching outfits and unbalanced instrumental sections, to be replaced by a smaller and looser group. The locally-known saxophonist Kris Allen got a chance to show off his musical talents during the Jazz Ensemble's second piece "Village Blues," by jazz legend John Coltrane. The Jazz Ensemble's impressive performance was acknowledged by 5th-semester music theory major Matt Mainella, who also played trumpet on the later Combo No. 2.

"I thought the whole group was pretty tight, and left me with a swingin feeling," said Mainella. "The first song seemed very reminiscent of 'The Bitches' Brew' by Miles Davis."

After the Jazz Ensemble left the stage, several more stripped down jazz combos took turns playing. Each jazz combo consisted of between four and seven musicians playing tunes that left room for each member to improvise a solo. One of the more interesting combos was Combo No. 2 which featured a Gary Burton-style vibraphonist in their interpretation of the Latin sounding "Recordamé," and the jazz favorite "Bernie's Tune." The chance to experiment was taken advantage of by Combo No. 1's trombonist Chris Espy, who explored the high range of his instrument in a twisting fashion during the song "Contemplation." Tom Wise did likewise on his saxophone on their next piece, "Isotope." Earl MacDonald took part on piano in Combo No. 4 (codenamed C.A.L.F.) and was accompanied on clarinet, cello and percussion. The combo played one of MacDonald's own arrangements called "The Bidwell Cronies," which sounded like a man consistently slipping while trying to walk down the street. Their follow up, "I Never Told You," used the piano and percussion to create a spookier and menacing sound.

The final performance of the night was of the 18-piece Jazz Lab Band. It featured several trumpets and trombones to give the group a big band style and brought life to classics such as "Seven Steps to Heaven" and Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night In Tunisia." This ended the jazz showcase on a bold high note, which left the more than 100 person audience hoping for more. It was the end for tonight, but the musicians promised more expansive sets for later on in the semester.

Contact Eric Nigosanti at

Eric.Nigosanti@UConn.edu.