Attending my first jazz concert was an unforgettable experience of great live instrumental music. The concert was entertaining and a very educational experience of this course. As a student in this course with little musical education, I never appreciated instrumentals, until the SDSU Jazz Concert. This concert was a really enjoyable experience with the balance of all the instruments. I really enjoyed the experience and the knowledge of music I gained from the concert. The way the conductor opened the show was very nice. As I walked in some of the violins were playing sweet melodies until everyone arrived and took a seat.
They asked us to shut off our phones so we would not interrupt the concert. They had an itinerary for us to follow along with all the songs but they did not play every song that was on he itinerary. Also, the songs were not in playing order so it got confusing which songs they were playing. The melodies portrayed in each song were very unique. The first song, “In a Turkish Bath,” the guitar player, Tim Quinn had a long solo in the beginning that was entertaining because of his enthusiasm and body movements that went with the beats.
It was refreshing to see someone with such great skill who so involved in playing the guitar. There was also one pianist, who hit every note on point, and many saxophonists and trumpeters. One of the trumpeters (I unfortunately forgot his name) had a 30 second long solo. He was incredible; his movement as he played was magnificent. The way his body moved with the melody of the song was on point. He was really in the mood of the song and was enjoyable to watch. This song was falling more toward dissonant category then consonant. The instruments were very loud and not kind to the ear.
The second song played was a surprise choice, and it was a pleasure to see that each musician was very prepared and put their best effort into the songs. The third chosen song was “Santa Barbara Samba” and it included great fast beats with the trombone, guitar, and drums. I really enjoyed the melodies of all the instruments played because each had their own timbre. The fourth song played was “Time After Time,” which is my favorite song played because of the female vocalist, Teagen Taylor, who had a great voice. The vocal component kept me entertained because I was able to greatly appreciate the instruments along with the voice.
She sang and also played the saxophone. She had a beautiful voice and is a very impressive musician. That song was a good vocal ensemble that was a balance between vocals and instruments. On the fifth song, “Latin Espresso,” I appreciated how upbeat the song was and how there was such great rhythm as well. The timbre, or tone color, was very happy and bright. This made the music enjoyable and creates a pleasurable mood for the ears of the audience. Lastly, the “Concord Blues Plus 8” piece was impressive to me because of the piano player. The pianist also had magnificent solos.
The piano creates a very unique sound during an instrumental and adds a great amount of rhythm and is my personal favorite instrument, but I would have enjoyed more attention for the pianist throughout the performance. The guitar solos, by Tim Quinn, were very well performed. I really enjoyed his enthusiasm and love for music, which was very noticeable during his performance. I enjoyed his part in the song and his great skills on the piano. The rhythm of a song allows the audience to add their own motion to the unique beat and “Concord Blues Plus 8” created an entertaining beat that I appreciated greatly.
When I was younger I played the piano, so I felt I could relate the most with that instrument and could understand the piano part the best. The songs that were played at the concert added depth to the course because all the musicians were very talented and brought a great jazz experience to the concert. Overall, this experience at the San Diego State University Jazz Ensemble was unforgettable as well as very educational and enjoyable. Even though our class is the history of rock I thought it would be cool to see a jazz concert and learn a different type of music.
The jazz ensemble flowed very well, and I sat in the front row, which was a great experience. I feel that San Diego State University’s Jazz Ensemble is very well directed and deserves more recognition. This experience added depth to the course and was much more pleasurable than listening to instrumentals online because I had never taken an interest in jazz until finally seeing it live in concert. While I am not pursuing a career in music, I am interested in attending more live jazz concerts and expanding my musical horizons.
