Concert Review

Attending the Jazz Ensemble on the 29

th
November at the campuss auditorium turned out to be
an expressive, pleasant experience. The event was led by Alan Black, Director, and the ensemble was a
mixture of a few veteran players and several students. The rhythm section featured Max Salazar on
piano, Bruce Falnes at electric guitar along with Austin Monson and James Demerson on bass and
drums, respectively. Trumpets included Andrew Checki, Parker Arnold, Wes Killion and Dr. Tim Justus.
Trombonists were James Ivey, Bill Myers and Emery Williams, along with the saxophonistsaltos Pedro
Moreno and Tyler Lasseter, tenors Justin Fuhrman and Laurelai Duffy (the only female in the collection),
and Trevor Cornwell on baritone. Together the group proved to be a talented collection, displaying an
abundance of teamwork, camaraderie and easy spirits that soared throughout the program, with the
bits of music chosen coming from various composers such as Les Hooper, Gordon Goodwin, Sammy
Nestico, Kris Berg and David Metzger.
Mr. Black provided interesting commentary before each of the songs and was generally very
charming, guiding the players through their motions with ease. Kicking things off was the opener, The
Residual Dance Fire, which featured a lively melody and several exciting saxophone solos, notably by
Pedro Moreno, which was accompanied with several ripples of trombone and trumpet splashes financed
by Max Salazars soft piano lines that weaved in and throughout a deep bass line. The piece, as with all
of the following pieces, was followed immediately by an appreciative swarming of applause from a
warm audience. Count Bubba, a Goodwin composition, followed up next with its classy melody and
free-ranging trombone sections which were given some freedom during a sizeable portion of the tune,
backed as usual by the trumpets, whose expressive tones resounded richly when delivering notes in the
higher registers, spreading throughout the auditorium. The two following songs I cannot recall much,
only that they seemed decent fare (to the audience at least), but not much of anything sticks to
memoryhowever, to each his own albatross. The fifth song of the night branched out the most vividly


and was entitled Perpetual Commotion. With its funky rhythmical lines and upbeat, pulsing melody, it
was greeted with loud cheers and applause from the crowd after only the first initial notes. The players
had fun with that one. The rhythmists were suave in their roles, James Demerson propelling the beat
forward to provide structure and flow. Standing out in particular on tenor sax was Justin Fuhrman,
whose charismatic solo moments grasped hold of your attention and demanded the crowd to follow the
interesting inflections and accents time and again that were consistently rewardingand when
shadowed with dominant trombone blasts through open space, seemed to open a unique discussion
that lasted many portions of the song. Salazars switch to keyboard added wonderful color to the
succeeding airy melodies, always backed by Austin Monsons style at his bass, with solid lines tagging
along beside the songs to prop them up like a walking stick.
Overall, very classy stuffthe dress, set-up and locationas well as the overall time, which was
quick and business-like, the event lasting underneath an hour in sum. Dr. Jim Justus seemed to be the
veteran player of the group and belted out creamy, sustained horn blast after blast which tickled the
audiences ears with their taste, like lemons in green tea. Never failing to entice the crowd, who
applauded rhythmically following each of his ventures, the trumpets were nevertheless shared
generously by fellow trumpeters Checki and Arnold, who swapped leads with their instruments in
countless boisterous exchanges of instrumental dialogue. Together the four trumpeters blended
cohesively to provide a range and depth which could only layer the creature in its aural movements.
Alan Black seemed to be enjoying himself greatly up on the platform and even joined in on several
songs, particularly near the end, hopping on bongo drums and also a strange triangular wooden
instrument during the final piece, titled Get in Line by Goodwin. The group seemed in many parts not
dissimilar to a living organism, metabolizing and constantly growing as the music canvassed or cavorted
to and fro and as the players themselves communicated through their trained motions. The folks in the


crowd seemed to be having quite a time and a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes closed
out the performance.
Composed of fine musicians all (at least by all appearances to my novice ear), youd never be
able to detect the gap between the less experienced players and the vets as the interaction flowed
creatively between the participants, each feeding off of each in a way that spawned such a healthy
synergy. Definitely a pleasurable experiencelively playing and an appreciative audience allowed my
father and I to have a wonderful time. While not a discerning and nuanced fan of jazz music, the music
was exciting. Overall, a treatan outstanding performance and delightful time, so check it out next time
if you are in town.