On an evening that
ended a week of rain, there was jazz.
The SHSU Jazz Lab Band and Ensemble performed their first concert of the semester Oct. 18 .
The hollow,
expansive feeling of the David and Grettle Payne Concert Hall can make you feel
small— not in a bad way, but the kind garnered in an old cathedral with a
feeling of relief and surrender. The musicians in their black attire took their
seats on stage. For what always seems too long, the instruments purred
irreverently as the musicians prepared. Like a spoon against a champagne glass,
the pianist started tapping a single key to end all the chatter. Silence
pervaded the hall. Their band director Aric Schneller entered the stage. First
up was the Jazz Lab Band.
The first song was
the “Mission Impossible” theme song. The drummer Josiah McDuffie kept things
thrilling, adding all the intensity required for the parts of the song that
would play during otherworldly jumps, booms and blasts.
Following that was
a ballad, featuring the round but striking lead of Juan Chavez and his
flugelhorn as the guitar in the background grounded the affair. As the song
concluded, the slow descending strum of guitarist Greg Sanderson painted the
finishing touches of a seductive scene.
“Bossa Rio” by John Fedchock let the horn section
loose, transporting me to a sort of 1950’s ball in a tropical place. It was
like attempting to recite poetry to a beautiful woman with red lips. The song
was better than my imagination. In short, it sounded like the act of courting.
Finally, the last
and best song of the set was “Moanin’”
by Charles Mingus. Before they played, Schneller teased the coming “tenor
battle” between Parker Bretz and Marco Ulloa. Christopher Swatzel was on the
baritone saxophone and got us started with some hot solo licks. The people in the
band and audience made faces as if they’d just eaten something spicy after
every spout from the mighty baritone.
Ulloa started with
a long tour de force. Bretz hissed back and waited for the next move of his
victim like a snake. They were juggernauts of sound, packaged gracefully with
more aggression than any heavy metal. I could only reasonably call the battle a
draw. The lab band completed their impossible mission, and now came the ensemble.
Another round of applause came as Schneller
re-entered the stage.
“How many people
have seen Austin Powers?” Schneller asked. Some hands raised and some heads nodded
and the show began.
The band played “Soul
Bossa Nova” by Quincy Jones that was
featured in the aforementioned film. Jesus Del Campo on alto saxophone took his
solo like a man that has been doing it for 40 years. It seemed as if his
instrument was another ligament. He swung with an effortless ease.
The tune “Time
After Time” followed. The
introductory keys of Colyn Szumanski’s piano reminded me of how the sun finally
came out of the rain this week.
On lead trumpet,
Andrew Wilson’s face was vacuum-sealed and red. All oxygen devoted to the task,
he held tight for another note that sang as intimidatingly planned as the last.
The entire saxophone section stood up to play the song’s melody in unison like
a divinely guided ocean wave. There was utter power and joy, the theme of those
moments in all of our lives when the trees bend to shade us and the wind pushes
us forward.
“Dark Orchid” by
Sammy Nestico offered a different vision of a day. The rhythm sounded like
running, like each step was hoping to find resolution, only ever coming to a
higher plane from the last.
The night was
dedicated to famed trombonist Bill Watrous, who passed away in July. Watrous
had a hand in many Hollywood studio recordings during his distinguished
career. He is the namesake of the Bill
Watrous Jazz Festival held at SHSU in the spring semester. However, to
Schneller, he was a lot more than that.
That brought us to
one of the last songs of the night, “This One’s for Jangles”. It is an original
sang by Schneller in loving memory of his mentor and friend.
The song turned
mere personal feelings into vibrating realities for us to hear. I hope Watrous
heard them too.
And the last line was sung, “Goodbye Billy Jangles.”