Jazz Concert Essay

Jazz concerts feature some of the most talented artists of the trade, banded together in harmony to create one musical piece. Most concerts feature a combination of singing and instrumentals to make long, flowing pieces of music. I had the treat to watch a Jazz concert streamed live online from Quinnipac University in Hamden, CT, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. Many jazz concerts feature a wide range of instruments which complement and highlight each other. This band was no different. It featured a piano, tenor sax, flute, guitar, drums, bass, and a trumpet. It was really interesting how instrument variation could be utilized all at the same time and still sound great. There were no vocals in the four-song show, however, the band did have many instrumental solos. The solos were unique in the fact that there was one featured instrument with one or more background instruments. I felt that even though there was more than one instrument playing at once, the pieces were still solos rather than duets since the background music just kept the rhythm flowing rather than playing at full volume with the
The music pace was upbeat and gentle, and was a continuous flow. This lasted throughout the entire performance. The dynamics of the band were setup to allow the sax to have the strongest, most powerful sound with the other instruments blending together at the same volume. The volume was varied at times though, with the instruments giving a strong, loud “jolt” of music to really give a full effect. The texture of the band was also varied, with there being a very heavy texture at times when all seven instruments were playing, to a very light texture, when just two were. The form of the texture tended to change when one instrument would play, and the rest would slowly blend in until all were playing. This was another technique that allowed all of the instruments to flow together without an abrupt stop or change in