Lawn chairs, shrimp gumbo and picnic blankets are strewn across the amphitheater as hanging lights pulse over a band in perfect unison. The inflatable dome sways as each musician takes turns improvising — some relaxed, some passionate and others completely dialed in. The director makes a playful quip and the entire audience good-naturedly laughs.
Jazz III, Jazz II, Jazz I and featured band Calico held their annual Jazz Night in the amphitheater on May 3. From bossa nova to ballads to 60s rock-influenced pieces, players and soloists took every opportunity to reinvent each standard with a distinctive flair.
Jazz III kicked off the night with the bossa tune “Waters of March” by Antonio Carlos Jobim, featuring a delicate string of piano arpeggios that mimicked the flowing of water. Each of their pieces featured numerous student solos that showed off the improvisational skills they worked on developing all year, according to instrumental music teacher Matthew Distante.
“I really enjoyed all the soloists that were brave enough to improv in front of the audience,” Distante said. “It can be really scary to take that plunge but all the soloists did an exceptional job.”
Jazz II kept up the energy with the upbeat “Perdido” by Juan Tizol, infecting the entire audience with its irresistible swing and cheeky refrains. From there, pianist and sophomore Neo Tian effortlessly coaxed the audience into the mellow “Shadow of Your Smile” by Johnny Mandel. They concluded with “Cold Duck Time” by Eddie Harris, delivering an impressive back and forth between saxophonist Kaden Lee and trombonist Bryan Woo.
“Your solos are an expression of your character and musical ideas — that’s especially a challenge when it comes to jazz,” Jazz II saxophonist River Bridson said.
The five member student band Calico came next, letting saxophonist and junior Shion Homma take the lead on Kenny Dorham’s “Blue Bossa,” with a clear and vibrant latin jazz lick. The band closed with a tangy rendition of “Feel So Good” by Chuck Mangione, a lively yet intimate take on the standard that Jazz I had covered the previous year.
“[Calico] has been working really hard every day since a month ago and it was the best feeling to really perform,” Homma said. “We finally felt that moment of satisfaction of ‘Oh, I finally did it!’”
As the sky darkened, members of Jazz I unexpectedly began their performance by appearing in a marching band formation. They promenaded in a loose line around the audience, the sound of the brass sending small vibrations through the ground. Settling in front of the amphitheater, the line scattered to play a group improv jam.
“Jazz I’s performance was really memorable and true to tradition — it went back to jazz’s roots of learning by ear and not using traditional western music notation,” Distante said. “[It] was really accurate to the style, really accurate to the culture and celebrates the parts of jazz that we don’t traditionally find in normal music education.”
“You have your good days and bad days, but all of us in jazz band come from a semester of marching band, so that helps us find the motivation to hype each other up,” drummer and senior Ken Yasuda said. “We get that drive to be better and [tonight] we finally get to show it off to all of our family, all of our friends and everyone who could come.”
