JerseyArticlesJazzJAZZ UJazz Goes to School | The College Jazz SceneBy Frank MulvaneyRutgers UniversityMARCH 3 — If you told one <strong>of</strong> your jazzfriends that you were going out to a concert <strong>of</strong>Don Sebesky music, they would probably say,“Who’s he?” Mr. Sebesky was a renownedtrombonist with many big name bands and isstill active as a composer/arranger, having wonthree Grammys in 1998/1999. The music wewould hear t<strong>his</strong> evening from the RU undergraduateensemble was written primarily forthe Maynard Ferguson and Buddy Rich bands.I would say it was straight-ahead big bandjazz; nothing too cerebral. One <strong>of</strong> the greatbenefits <strong>of</strong> college concerts, for open-mindedjazz fans, is the education that comes alongwith the listening pleasure.The opening number, entitled “Mean Machine”was a big-sound, up-tempo chart featuring afine solo by altoist Leo Wolf. “Sunday Sermon,”a hot, hard swing, was next up. Here we heardseveral excellent solos from trombonist EricDrylewicz; guitarist Daniel Bascom; altoistYuki Yosida; and on flute, RupnathChattopadhyay, who was a triple threat tonightplaying trombone and French horn as well. Wethen heard “Sweetie Pie,” a swinging balladwith marvelous mellow harmonies. The <strong>first</strong>set concluded with a real burner entitled“Humbug” on which baritone <strong>John</strong> DiSantoand pianist Michael Bond made essentialcontributions.“Smilestones,” A Miles Davis tribute piece, led<strong>of</strong>f the second half. T<strong>his</strong> tune has a strongfunk beat and featured fun point/counterpointsolos by altoist David Greenberg and tenoristPeter Laurance. Jim Bell with muted trumpetand Chris Bleeke with open-throat trumpetadded interest to t<strong>his</strong> enjoyable tune. Sebesky’sarrangement <strong>of</strong> Mussorgsky’s famous work“Pictures at an Exhibition” was the centerpiece<strong>of</strong> the concert and really proved how well theensemble could handle such a challengingarrangement. On t<strong>his</strong> one, we heard <strong>some</strong> finetrumpet work from Tiffany Peng and valuablecontributions from guitarist Chris Schwartz,plus an outstanding drum solo by MattTeitelman. “Blue Moan” was a nice bluesychange <strong>of</strong> pace that featured an excellent soloby Peter Laurance on tenor. Concluding t<strong>his</strong>lively concert was a tune called: “Fan It, Janet,”which was recorded in 1981 by the MaynardFerguson Band and so exemplifies that organization.Maynard would have been proud <strong>of</strong> theway the RU ensemble played t<strong>his</strong> one, withmost <strong>of</strong> the band members getting a chance toshine in the spotlight.Ensemble Director David Miller did a greatjob putting the program together and supplyingwitty commentary throughout, as hecredited the many fine soloists.So folks, we heard <strong>some</strong> great, pr<strong>of</strong>essionallevel, live big band jazz in a beautiful venuewith free admission and free parking.Princeton UniversityMARCH 2 — <strong>Like</strong> all Princeton student concertst<strong>his</strong> one had a strong, well-developed theme:“A Woman’s Voice: The Music <strong>of</strong> WomenComposers in Jazz.” The <strong>first</strong> half <strong>of</strong> the programhad The Composers Collective, a septet,performing the works <strong>of</strong> two brilliant youngwomen. We heard a trio <strong>of</strong> compositions fromPrinceton senior, Julia Brav. Julia has receivedinternational recognition via selection for theIAJE Sisters in Jazz and for Down Beat’s BestCollege Soloist award. Julia’s compositions arevery advanced technically, sop<strong>his</strong>ticated and achallenge for all but the most adept pianists.“Cat Dance” is a <strong>some</strong>what long meanderingpolyrhythmic piece that demonstrated Julia’sobvious virtuosity and the depth <strong>of</strong> her musicalgifts. “Falling Feather” is a marvelous ballad<strong>of</strong> rich, complex harmonies on which tenoristBen Wasserman delivered a beautiful, intensesolo. “Heliocentric” is an impressive compositionon many levels that probably overwhelmsthe sensory capabilities <strong>of</strong> the typical listener.It’s the type <strong>of</strong> art that demands multiplesamplings to be appreciated. Julia is an exceptionalcomposer/musician that I have had thepleasure <strong>of</strong> watching mature as an artist forthe last five years. I expect to hear about hergreat success in the coming years.It’s difficult to control my enthusiasm forKadri Voorand. T<strong>his</strong> 21-year old young lady isthe most natural young jazz singer that I haveever seen. She sings like an alto saxophone.Her four octave voice is like an extra horn inthe band. Only in her third year at the EstonianAcademy <strong>of</strong> Music, she plays piano and violinand scats like no one you’ve ever heard before.T<strong>his</strong> afternoon we were treated to three <strong>of</strong> hervery impressive compositions, sung in bothEnglish and Estonian, which to my ear has thesame kind <strong>of</strong> natural melodic character asPortugese. I should add that Ms. Voorandspeaks English better than most native-bornAmericans. Her <strong>first</strong> <strong>of</strong>fering was a fascinatingtune called “Echo the Feeling,” which featureda wonderful long intro by Julia at the piano.All you needed to hear was 16 bars <strong>of</strong> the vocaland you knew, for sure, that you were seeing avery special talent. T<strong>his</strong> was a real jazz tunethat had nothing in common with the 3-minute A A B A structure <strong>of</strong> most jazz standards,the kind that musicians really like tosink their teeth into. Kadri puts her entirebeing into the performance that is obviousfrom her body language, the way she handlestempo changes and her dramatic intonationand interpretation <strong>of</strong> the lyrics. “Who Am I”was a lovely,very lyrical ballad that showedKadri’s range and the instrumental quality <strong>of</strong>her voice, as she traded fours in scat modewith altoist Robbie Spackey. The final tune <strong>of</strong>the set was an up-tempo number that allowedguitarist Anand Krishnamurphy, bassistAllison Wood and drummer Will Kain to showtheir considerable talents as soloists. I’m notashamed to admit that my eyes welled upduring Kadri’s performance. Beautiful musicalart does that to me <strong>some</strong>times. If Kadri doesnot become a huge international star one day,I do not know anything about talent.continued on page 3432__________________________________ May 2008
May 2008___________________________________ 33