These reports should adhere to all of the typical college-level writing parameters with which you are familiar. Each report should be of at least two pages (600 words). I would expect that your jazz analytical skills will improve by your second performance report, at which point we will have studied more jazz artists and genres. You should type your responses into a word processing program such as Microsoft Word. Use an appropriate header with your name, the course number and name (MUS 347 Jazz in America), the assignment (i.e.: Live/Online Jazz Performance Report #2), and the date. Use double spacing and 12-point font.
Jazz Performance Report 2
Introduction
My first experience of a live Jazz performance occurred in Nash. Nash is an organization that has taken responsibility for increasing the popularity of Jazz. Nash attempts to aid the music community in every way possible. I watched the live performance on 7th September 2022. The acts were not extremely popular, but before going to the venue I did do a simple Google search and found some of their performance videos. The trio of Devon Leal Bridgewater, Eric Bart, and Ted Sistrunk is a storehouse of talent, and Nash as an organization made the great decision of giving them a platform to showcase their talent.
Body
The performance started with the arrival of a man who announced himself as a part of the Board of Directors. He gave a speech about how the center has been formulated to help the entire community. He goes on to explain that the center has been named after “Lewis Nash”, and functions as a non-profit organization. The organization is mainly operated by volunteers and as a part of its function promotes education and Jazz training. The venue was smaller than I anticipation, which led to a much more personal experience for me as a viewer. The jazz performance presented there was of a trio containing artists Devon Leal Bridgewater who played the violin, trumpet cornet, and flugelhorn, Eric Bart who was behind the guitar, and Ted Sistrunk played the Bass. I am not that adept with Jazz music and therefore I could not analyze every element perfectly, but I plan to go to the venue again so that I can become more experienced with Jazz music.
The trio’s first performance was a composition called “People Will Say We Are in Love”. The opening of the song was done with the aid of a cornet. The intro was accompanied by bass and guitar. The presence of bass and guitar led to the addition of a tempo that was fluid and the cornet played the part that was noticeable throughout the entire composition. This tune seemed to embody the spirit of “cool jazz”. The cornet aided the song in keeping a more fast-paced tempo and along with that it also accompanied syncopated notes. The song pretty much followed the original composition and did not improvise much. To perform every piece, a music sheet was used, which was followed by the artists. The element that truly captivated my attention was the concluding section of the composition. Amongst all the musical instruments, the ones that I like the most are bass and guitars. Therefore it was the mixture of their tunes that became the highlight for me in this performance. Since there were not many people that were in the venue as the audience, I could actually see all of their reactions. Some people were so mesmerized by the music that they were tapping their feet, while some were sipping wine, and certain students were writing all their observations. Since this was one of the first live shows I had ever attended these aspects were interesting for me.
Before every piece, an introduction was made by either the Board of Directors or Devon Bridgewater. In their introductions, they involved the audience so that everyone felt included in the performance. The second performance was of the composition “A Night in Tunisia”, in which the prominent instruments were guitar, bass, and violin. The most prominent instrument in this composition was the violin which was utilized to produce many different sounds, which gave a distinct feel to the composition. The aura of the composition felt like a ‘half time’, as it contained scales along with breaks in an intermittent pattern. This piece felt like a ‘Free Jazz’ composition, as its effect was vehement and style heavily random. The term ‘broken time’ could also be applied here, as the beats in the composition have a sporadic nature and the tempo is extremely irregular. The analysis of this piece was a difficult endeavor as the tempo was neither fast nor slow.
In the entire performance, the piece that I liked the most in the arrangement was “Dearly Beloved”. This composition was the creation of the artist Jeremy Curd. This performance was a Smooth Jazz piece. The performance of this song opened with the combination of a guitar and violin. The sound of the guitar was felt very prominently in the performance. The performance had a lot of variations in elements like scales, breaks, and melody. Throughout the entire piece, these elements kept on changing. The composition’s pace was not fast, but its rhythm was such that anybody could dance to it. How the Guitar was played, it was evident that there were numerous amount of “runs” that were present in the composition. This factor ultimately stood out in the whole performance. This performance was a dream for any Jazz lover.
The next song that was performed is titled “The Talk of the Town”, which was written by Barry Harris. The song opened uniquely, as the performers were counted off. The song was accompanied by a slower melody. The reason the melody was slow, was that the song was created as a breakup song. This ‘break-up’ essentially took place in a small town. Therefore, by the theme the melody and pace were slow. The musical instrument that had prominence in the performance was the Cornet. The Cornet’s tune was accompanied by the melodious sound produced by the Guitar. The song is performed as a ‘Blues’ composition. This is because the pace is extremely slow and the guitar produces a sound that evokes quiet and melancholy. In contrast, the Cornet produces loud notes. This contrast emanates the feeling of being heartbroken. It felt as if the song is describing a human being in pain, who at one moment is attempting to keep his or her emotions together and is expressing it through the tunes of the Guitar, but at the next moment he or she is without any control of their breakdown, this is reflected through the Cornet.
Conclusion
The entire experience was unique and delightful. In the past, I have had some experience with various musical instruments, and therefore I liked analyzing the instruments in the performance. It also elevated my appreciation of how they were played. However, I need to earn more expertise in it. Eventually, I want to learn more about the instruments by attending more live concerts. The experience of listening to a composition in a fully packed arena is undoubtedly great, but listening to upcoming talents in the presence of people who are there solely to enjoy Jazz, no matter what the number, is a lovely experience in itself.
