Jazz music is best performed in an intimate setting that allows the performers to feed off the energy of the crowd and let it guide their improvisation.
Unfortunately, the Ohio University Jazz Ensembles don't have the opportunity to perform in this type of environment often. That's why the musicians are so excited to perform at Casa Nueva tonight.
That's really how jazz came up
said Matthew James, director of jazz ensembles at the Ohio University School of Music. In clubs on riverboats in dance halls
not necessarily in a concert environment where everyone has to have their hands folded and be quiet.
Both OU Jazz ensembles, which have about 16 members each, will perform along with two small jazz combos, which have about 5-8 members. They will play works from jazz legends such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Count Basie and more contemporary pieces from the likes of Maynard Ferguson.
It will be a good cross section of the history of jazz
James said.
This is the third or fourth year the OU Jazz Ensembles have performed at Casa, James said, and every year it's one of the students' most eagerly anticipated events.
James said he is trying to increase the appreciation of jazz, but the main purpose of the event is to take jazz back to its roots and perform in a club setting.
It's more realistic
said David Gonzalez Jr., a first-year master's student studying trombone performance and pedagogy. Once you're out in the real world
you're never going to be like ... in a big auditorium.
When performing at Casa, the ensembles struggle simply to fit everyone on the stage and play only a few inches from the audience. Usually they perform on a stage at a venue like Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium where the listeners are 30 or 40 feet away.
Gonzalez said playing and soloing at a place like Casa gives him an adrenaline rush. He can let loose a bit because it's not a formal gig, but it also forces him to perform at his highest level.
I think you have to be considerate of what the audience wants you to do and react
Gonzalez said. At a place like Casa
I think the audience is expecting a more animated performance.
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