Concert Essay 1
Jake Castillio
02/19/2015
MUSC 118B Section 2
Concert Essay #1
Concert Essay #1 – Jared Blum, Trumpet
On February 19, 2015, Jared Blum at the Sacramento State University had his first concert of the spring semester featuring plenty of special guests. This concert was presented as partial fulfillment of the requirements that he needs for his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies. Jared Blum, with his special guests (Megan Spurlock on the clarinet, Morgan Childres on the trombone, the Jazz Combo, the Jazz Essemble, and other special guests), collectively performed nine pieces along with a medley that compromised of three songs at the concert. Prior to taking this course, one of the first questions that I asked myself was “what do I know about jazz?” I have always consociated jazz music with the African American culture, mainly because of the general idea of how jazz music can give off a “bluesy” rhythm. Little did I know how diverse jazz music can be. “Creole Belles”, “Creep”, and the medley that compromised of “When you’re smiling”, “Swing that music”, and “Shiek of Araby” are the pieces that allowed the audience, including myself, to experience the diversity of jazz music. “Creole Belles”, was originally written by J.B. Lampe and arranged by Jared Blum along with the Jazz Combo, featuring Megan Spurlock on the clarinet. When I read the title of the song, I automatically thought that the piece would include bells. However, the song did not include the bells and instead, a banjo was used to be apart of the song. Strangely enough, I never thought that the strings of the banjo would be suitable for a jazzy song. The rhythm was steady and seemed to get a lot more upbeat, even with the banjo playing in the song. The dynamics of the song was increasingly getting loud and upbeat, and gave a dancey feel that immediately hooked the audience to the concert.
“Creep”, was originally written and sung by a band named “Radiohead”. This was one of the most interesting
02/19/2015
MUSC 118B Section 2
Concert Essay #1
Concert Essay #1 – Jared Blum, Trumpet
On February 19, 2015, Jared Blum at the Sacramento State University had his first concert of the spring semester featuring plenty of special guests. This concert was presented as partial fulfillment of the requirements that he needs for his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies. Jared Blum, with his special guests (Megan Spurlock on the clarinet, Morgan Childres on the trombone, the Jazz Combo, the Jazz Essemble, and other special guests), collectively performed nine pieces along with a medley that compromised of three songs at the concert. Prior to taking this course, one of the first questions that I asked myself was “what do I know about jazz?” I have always consociated jazz music with the African American culture, mainly because of the general idea of how jazz music can give off a “bluesy” rhythm. Little did I know how diverse jazz music can be. “Creole Belles”, “Creep”, and the medley that compromised of “When you’re smiling”, “Swing that music”, and “Shiek of Araby” are the pieces that allowed the audience, including myself, to experience the diversity of jazz music. “Creole Belles”, was originally written by J.B. Lampe and arranged by Jared Blum along with the Jazz Combo, featuring Megan Spurlock on the clarinet. When I read the title of the song, I automatically thought that the piece would include bells. However, the song did not include the bells and instead, a banjo was used to be apart of the song. Strangely enough, I never thought that the strings of the banjo would be suitable for a jazzy song. The rhythm was steady and seemed to get a lot more upbeat, even with the banjo playing in the song. The dynamics of the song was increasingly getting loud and upbeat, and gave a dancey feel that immediately hooked the audience to the concert.
“Creep”, was originally written and sung by a band named “Radiohead”. This was one of the most interesting