On Tuesday December 9th, the BHS’ String Orchestra, Intro Jazz Lab, after school jazz band, Jazz Ensemble Honors, and the Concert Band performed at their first concert of the year.
The show opened with 3 songs by the Orchestra, the first one being excerpts from “Jupiter” by Gustav Holst arranged by John Caponegro. The song is from The Planets Suite, a seven movement piece which gives a musical interpretation of the Roman gods whom the planets are named after. Jupiter, the bringer of Jollity, has the most uplifting movement, which features uptempo energetic melodies. The second piece, “Pavane for a Dead Princess” by Maurice Ravel arranged by Jeremy Woolstenhulme, aims to portray a young princess with expressive melodies. Their last song was a holiday classic, Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson arranged by Bud Caputo. The song was a festive piece to end the orchestra’s portion of the concert.
The second performance was by a small ensemble of just 7 people, Intro Jazz Lab. Focused on the basics of improvisation, the semester-long intro class had a set full of famous jazz standards. They started off energetic with Sonny Rollins’ “Oleo,” which uses a common chord progression called rhythm changes, based on George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm.” Their second piece, “Song for my Father” is a Latin standard written by piano player Horace Silver, which served as an opportunity for the band to practice soloing over Latin jazz. Next was a ballad by Theolonius Monk titled “Round Midnight.” Rather than the melody being played by the entire band, the melody was passed around with each member adding their own interpretation to the song. The tune was followed by the lively “St.Thomas” by Sonny Rollins. Based on a Bahamian folk tune called Sponger Monkey, it was another opportunity for the class to experiment with different styles as its simple forms allow for the easy execution of ideas.
The first big jazz ensemble to perform at the concert was an after school group directed by Tom Salyers. The Band is open to every student, with many of them using the band as an opportunity to practice secondary instruments. The opener, “A Day in the Life of a Fool” by Brazilian musician Luiz Bonfá, was one of the first Bossa Nova compositions to gain international popularity, particularly in the United States, where it helped establish the Bossa Nova movement in the late 1950s. Their second piece “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” is a jazz standard first recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra. The title refers to the Woodside Hotel, a Harlem establishment on Seventh Avenue at 142nd Street, which served as a popular lodging for jazz musicians during segregation.
The third jazz band to perform was the Honors Jazz Ensemble which meets during school. The band performed 3 difficult, famous tunes, “Birdland” composed by Joe Zawinul, “Afro Blue” by Mongo Santamaria, and “Groove Merchant” by Thad Jones. The band had been working on these pieces since the start of school, as they are notoriously difficult. “Birdland” is a tribute to the jazz club of the same name, which was open on Broadway from 1949-1965 and featured some of the most prominent artists of the time. Their second chart, “Afro Blue,” was made famous by John Coltrane, who turned the song into a ¾ swing, but the arrangement the band played calls back to the original with its 6/8 Latin feel. The complex time signature was a challenging yet fun way for the band to experiment with different feels. Their last song, “Groove Merchant”, was arguably their most impressive chart, as its complex saxophone and brass solos require the skill, practice, and focus of every member in the ensemble. The band was joined by Tom Salyers on trumpet and the chart brought an energetic end to the jazz segment of the concert.
The concert ended with 4 songs by the Concert Band, the first one being one of the most famous concert band pieces of all time, movements 1, 2, and 6 from Percy Granger’s “Lincolnshire Posy.” The piece originates from the Lincolnshire county of Eastern England, where Grainger gathered information on local folk songs. He famously made recordings of local musicians singing these songs in the early 20th century, and took their raw, passionate performances very literally, writing music with flowing time signatures and intense dynamics. The second piece was a short suite from one of the most famous ballets of all time, Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker.” The suite contains three of the famous dances: Chinese Dance, Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy, and Russian Dance. The piece pays homage to the original suite by making minimal changes to notation.The third piece was a beautiful, dynamic piece titled “A Hymnsong of Phillip Bliss.” Composer David Holsinger was inspired to write a piece based on the famous hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” by Philip Bliss. The final piece was a Leroy Anderson classic, Bugler’s Holiday. The piece is a simple but energetic, march-inspired piece that showcases a trio of trumpets, bringing a fun end to the winter concert.
The Music Department hopes to see you on March 31 at 6pm in the BHS theater, the next concert featuring the Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble Honors, Tom Salyer’s jazz band, and combined pieces with Lurgio Middle School!
Comments are closed.