Summary: Jazz Concert Review

Jazz Festival 2014 Concert Review
On March 22, 2014, the Jazz Band at Lone Star College North Harris performed a total of ten Jazz pieces: Hugh’s Blues, Cantaloupe Island, Gandy Dancer, Horn of Puente, Top Dog, Aaron’s Blues, Mazatlan, Jeannine, There’s Only So Much Oil in the Ground, and Rock This Town. According to the Washington Post, Jazz was the music that originated in Louisiana during the early 1900’s “in the fields where [African American] people worked as slaves and made up songs to express themselves [and] to keep alive the culture and traditions of their African homelands” (Washington Post). Despite slavery legally ending in 1865, African Americans still didn’t have the same rights as white Americans. “Jazz was music that both black
The primary instrumentalist was Ashley Flowers with the Trumpet. This was one of the first solo performances that the band completed. The trumpet, being a brass musical instrument with a flared bell and a bright, penetrating tone, influenced the dynamic or volume of the piece to be fortissimo or very loud. The rhythm was also metered and the Timbre or quality of sound was very clear. Another piece that essentially managed to do the same thing was Top Dog. Top Dog is a tune that was composed by Yasinitsky. The primary instrumentalist was Zach Dealejandro with the Trumpet. Both solos demonstrated both virtuosity and expression, along with some humorous moments. Solo’s serve to highlight performers ' ability to play off each other, while allowing his or her individual strength to shine
The primary instrumentalists were Dennis Dotson with the Trumpet and Johnny Gozales with the Sax. This piece reminded me of “Hot Jazz” that was played in Jazz Houses by imitators of New Orleans. There’s Only So Much Oil in the Ground is a tune that was arranged by Tomaro. The primary instrumentalists were Johnny Gozales with the Sax and Michael Williams with the Top Organ sounds. This piece seemed to be fortissimo or very loud. It seemed to be Polyphonic by containing multiple melodic lines of equal importance. Finally, Rock This Town is a tune that was arranged by Dave Wolpe. The primary instrumentalists were Dennis Dotson with the Trumpet and Johnny Gozales with the Sax. This piece was fortissimo or very loud. This piece also reminded me of the “swing” era where music was performed in order to encourage dance. They called this era the “bing band