On Sunday, November 18, Swarthmore College\u2019s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo will perform various music from famous composers like trumpeter Clifford Brown, the band War, pianist and organist Count Basie, Aaron Copland, pianist George Gershwin, and Henry Mancini. It is the wish of Andrew Neu, director of the Jazz Ensemble and one of the college\u2019s Associates in Performance, that the concert will showcase \u201cjazz standards\u201d (like music by Clifford Brown) and music from \u201clegendary big bands\u201d (like music by Count Basie and War) while also highlighting the musical \u201cstrength and personality of the band.\u201d<\/p>\n
This concert is particularly unique because two of the pieces that will be performed include vocals to be sung by Swarthmore students, a rare occurrence according to Neu. The students who will be singing are Veronica Yabloko, Shelby Billups, Ben Warren, and Omar Camps-Kamrin.<\/p>\n
Billups says she is \u201c immensely excited to not only be singing in a quartet with other talented singers, but to be singing alongside such a large band. This will be my first time singing jazz with a full band and in such a large setting, and I’m so lucky to get to do this with such a talented group of musicians.\u201d Warren also expresses similar enthusiasm, excited for this \u201c rare opportunity to get to perform with a big band.\u201d He says, \u201cThe voice program here [Swarthmore] deals mostly with classical music, and while I love it, it\u2019s always nice to broaden my horizons as a performer.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to jazz standards and classics like \u201cI\u2019ll Remember Clifford,\u201d \u201cCome Rain or Come Shine,\u201d and \u201cBasie Straight Ahead,\u201d the ensemble will also perform \u201cTSC Blues,\u201d \u201cFanfare for the Common Man,\u201d \u201cThe World is a Ghetto,\u201d pieces that were written \u201cwritten exclusively for jazz ensembles.\u201d \u201cTSC Blues\u201d is an original composed by Brain Pastor, a Philly locale and principal trombonist of the Philly Pops. \u201cFanfare for the Common Man,” arranged by Aaron Copland, is a creative, somewhat \u201cunusual\u201d interpretation of music originally purposed for brass and percussion. \u201cThe World is a Ghetto\u201d is Andrew Neu\u2019s own arrangement, which, he feels is \u201cnothing like the original.\u201d While the original music leans more towards being R&B, Neu\u2019s arrangement is more \u201cidiomatic towards a jazz ensemble,” almost resembling a jazz waltz.<\/p>\n
The full program lineup is: \u201cBasie Straight Ahead,\u201d \u201cTSC Blues,\u201d \u201cI Remember Clifford,\u201d \u201cThey Can\u2019t Take That Away From Me,\u201d \u201cLove Beams,\u201d \u201cAnd What if I Don\u2019t,\u201d \u201cLook to the Sky,\u201d \u201cFanfare for the Common Man,\u201d \u201cCome Rain or Shine,\u201d \u201cDreamsville,\u201d \u201cRiverscape,\u201d and \u201cthe World is a Ghetto.\u201d \u201cAnd What if I Don\u2019t\u201d and \u201cLook to the Sky\u201d will be performed by the Jazz Combo, a separate and smaller ensemble of students supported by the Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music Program, and the pieces that will include vocals are \u201cThey Can\u2019t Take That Away from Me\u201d and \u201cCome Rain or Shine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event will start at 7:30 P.M. in the Lang Concert Hall, and it will be live streamed.<\/p>\n
\n
Maria Consuelo de Dios ’21<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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