On the cool Friday evening of November 6, the LHS jazz band and combo held their fall concert. Interestingly, this concert featured Newton Middle School’s jazz band, who performed a few songs both in tandem with the LHS band and on their own.
The concert began with a brief introduction of the jazz combo by band director Don Emmons, followed by an almost instant jump into the concert.
Once the first song, when Wayne Shorter’s “One by One”, was finished, jazz combo director Brian Luzietti introduced the members and shared the background behind the jazz combo program.
The next song, “Greasy Spoon”, was very smooth, and was reminiscent of a noir spy movie from the 1940s.
The final song played by jazz combo, “Ran Kan Kan”, lived up to its playfully odd name with its high energy. It even seemed to feature a “conversation” between the drums and bass, played by sophomore Zeke Chase and junior Leo Bontrager respectively.
The second segment of the concert was performed by Newton Middle School, directed by Julia Bransgrove. Their first song was Funk Zone, living up to its name in its energetic sound, followed by Scoot. Their last song was “Hold the Mayo, which, according to Bransgrove, is part of a long-standing tradition at Newton Middle School in which one of their jazz band’s songs has a food item in the title.
The final segment of the concert was performed by the jazz band. Director Emmons mentioned in his introduction to the jazz band that it’s a class during the day, while jazz combo is an extracurricular activity that happens before the school day begins.
Their first song, titled “Birdland” had a chaotic feel to it, followed by Blues in Hoss Flat, which was featured in Jerry Louis’ 1961 comedy film, The Errand Boy. The second song, “Shadows of Your Smile”, provided a more relaxing listening experience- a nice palette-cleansing precursor to the more energetic, salsa-influenced “Sabor de Cuba”.
Finally, the concert ended with a combined piece, “Gonna Fly Now”, written for the 1976 movie Rocky.
In all, it was an engaging concert with lots of personality; a Friday evening well-spent.
