Bergen Community College presented a jazz performance in West Hall room 226. The concert featured a mix of students from college and high school catholics from Bergen. The room was small and contained a drummer/pianist, a pianist, a professor, one trombone (a bass player), six saxophones (6 saxophones), two flutes, three guitarists playing different kinds of guitars, and two additional players who were not visible due to my position. A girl played both the flute & saxophone. The band performed six songs: Blue Bossa and Cedar’s Blues as well as Jazz Dance, Jazz Dance, Mr. PC, Stolen Moments, Jazz Dance, Freedo, Al’s Mist and Al’s Blues. Blue Bossa featured four solos and Tey began by making a payment to him. Andy, John, and a girl playing the saxophone were the solos. They did a great job. Blue Bossa (and Mr.P.C.) are my favorites. Blue Bossa has been a very popular song since 1963, when Kenny Dorham wrote it. Joe Henderson was the first to release it. Blue Bossa, a Latin melody that jazz musicians often encounter, is one of their first. This sixteen-bar tune is challenging for beginners. The song was very fast. While the background music was loud, the soloists were moving at a slower pace. The song was characterized by a low harmony, melody, and rhythm. Al Grey composed this song. The recording was made in 2002 after Al Grey’s death in 2000. This is a simple, warm ballad that has 18 measures and eight A sections. The song also contains ten B sections. However, it was originally written in C.
Mr. P.C is a 12 bar piece of minor blues, composed in 1959 by John Coltrane. This song was played by the band very well. Joe on the saxophone and Andy on guitar were the solos. The girl on the saxophone was John, John, Sam, Sam, and Andrew played the saxophone. Paul Chambers, John Coltrane’s bass player, was the inspiration for this song. Sometimes, this song had a swing-like feel. It has a great beat and I wanted to tap my feet to the rhythm.
The conductor told the audience that the band had never done anything like improv before. He thought the group did a very good job. There were some obvious mistakes at one point, or it seemed like a mistake. They tried to pretend that it was an accident and reacted accordingly. These were obvious because they would sometimes move to a different beat from the song and not follow the same rhythm. One of my favorite solos was Andy, the guitarist, and the girl playing the saxophone. Andy and the girl looked like they could improvise like pros. The drummer played some solos as well, along with three guitars (James Victor and Andy), then each one individually. Sam played the trombone and Joe played the saxophone. There was also another man on the saxophone.
The concert was great and I would see it again. I’ve never really listened jazz before, but I did after the concert. I enjoyed it so much that I recorded some songs. It would have been a good idea for the conductor to have a microphone. I could barely hear him when he was announcing solos and names of songs, especially since the instruments were playing at the same time he was speaking. All in all, it was a pleasant experience. The band did a great job. The high school band was not as good as this band.
