Jazz Experience
Jazz Experience by Sedric Arnold
My Jazz experiences, relaxing yet energizing. Attending two venues which had different styles and ambience showed just a brief introduction to the diversity of Jazz. The Blue Whale was the intimate, relaxing, and smooth experience while The Saugus High School Jazz night was the energizing, want to make you get up and move experience. I will describe each to let you get a perception of how I felt at each. On September 30, 2013 I attended The Blue Whale where I had the pleasure of listening to Walter Smith III. Before I describe my experience I need to tell you that Walter Smith III is a saxophonist with a band comprising of a trumpet player, standup bass player, an electric bass guitarist and a drummer. Now on to my description. I arrived at the venue at nigh which was in a plaza filled with Japanese foods and feel. By the look of the plaza I had my doubts as it didn’t seem like an ideal place for a jazz club. To my surprise when I entered the doors of The Blue Whale the place was dimly lit, the far wall behind the performers was blue (hence the name The Blue Whale) and a smooth jazz solo playing. After getting a drink for the lady attending the show we sat on little stools which served as the seating in front of the performers. I immediately was glad I brought the lady with me because gave me a very intimate feeling. Now turning my attention to Walter playing a solo with only light accompaniment from the drummer and the string bassist. Walters notes were long and slow with some light vibratos and an occasional fast rift. The drummer ever so slowly moved his brush over his sneer and lightly accented it with an occasional tap on the symbols. The bassist softly and slowly plucked the strings with long low notes. Many of the bassist notes were actually in syncopation with the taps on the symbol from the drummer. The name of the song, Sound of Love, was a cover of a Duke Ellington song if I remember correctly.
My Jazz experiences, relaxing yet energizing. Attending two venues which had different styles and ambience showed just a brief introduction to the diversity of Jazz. The Blue Whale was the intimate, relaxing, and smooth experience while The Saugus High School Jazz night was the energizing, want to make you get up and move experience. I will describe each to let you get a perception of how I felt at each. On September 30, 2013 I attended The Blue Whale where I had the pleasure of listening to Walter Smith III. Before I describe my experience I need to tell you that Walter Smith III is a saxophonist with a band comprising of a trumpet player, standup bass player, an electric bass guitarist and a drummer. Now on to my description. I arrived at the venue at nigh which was in a plaza filled with Japanese foods and feel. By the look of the plaza I had my doubts as it didn’t seem like an ideal place for a jazz club. To my surprise when I entered the doors of The Blue Whale the place was dimly lit, the far wall behind the performers was blue (hence the name The Blue Whale) and a smooth jazz solo playing. After getting a drink for the lady attending the show we sat on little stools which served as the seating in front of the performers. I immediately was glad I brought the lady with me because gave me a very intimate feeling. Now turning my attention to Walter playing a solo with only light accompaniment from the drummer and the string bassist. Walters notes were long and slow with some light vibratos and an occasional fast rift. The drummer ever so slowly moved his brush over his sneer and lightly accented it with an occasional tap on the symbols. The bassist softly and slowly plucked the strings with long low notes. Many of the bassist notes were actually in syncopation with the taps on the symbol from the drummer. The name of the song, Sound of Love, was a cover of a Duke Ellington song if I remember correctly.