My Experience of Attending a Jazz Concert

Attending a jazz concert for the first time was a great experience; it was performed at Mt. Sac’s Feddersen Recital Hall on October 19, 2019. The musicians who took part in it were Bob Sheppard who alternated between the alto saxophone and soprano saxophone, Jeff Ellwood who played the tenor saxophone, Dean Koba who played the drums, and Katie Thiroux who played the double bass. The double bass was the instrument that mainly caught my attention, the melody and rhythm of it were perfect, it made me want to follow the rhythm throughout the entirety of the concert. The syncopation and swing, bent notes, modes, and improvisation helped keep a great rhythm during the whole concert.

Throughout the concert the bassist, drummer, and saxophonists did a great job, making the rhythm unforgettable. One of the songs that were performed was ‘Optimal Propensity’. This song started by having some low tones within the harmony with the introduction of the saxophone and drums. The song after started slowly changed into a more consonant harmony, that after remained throughout the rest of the song. The rhythm of this song was happy in some places within the song and higher and relaxing in other parts as the tempo changed and the notes of the saxophone helped to change the melody of it.

Furthermore, the second song that was performed was ‘Have You Met Ms. Jones?’ which contained a romantic melody. While the bass and saxophone alternated in rhythm, the passion of the song was motivating everyone to fall into the rhythm of it. The steady melody seemed to get significantly faster like a heartbeat by the climax of the song. The sounds were increasingly getting louder until all instruments met at the top with a bang and then changed the dynamic once again.

Another song that was played was ‘Did It Have To Be You?’. To me, it was a song of romance from the time the first note began. The song began with a crescendo from very soft to very loud and then remained in this way till the end when the pattern was reversed. The melody of it was very smooth; it made me feel the sweet and delicate rhythm that immediately took all my attention.

Moreover, after attending this amazing concert that was full of wonderful music I was happy and I had an unforgettable day. It was an experience of a lifetime. I listened to a genre of music I’ve never heard before, I feel that I was missing a part of real music. If it wasn’t for this assignment I wouldn’t know how awesome is to attend a jazz concert. The melody and rhythm are memorable. Now I have been searching online for jazz concerts because I am ready to keep experiencing the magnificence jazz music that began in the 20th century.

The audience seemed to be made up of college students attending for the same reasons as I was. However, other audience members who were part of it were older age groups in the audience, and they were there only hoping for a good performance and a great time. The audience always did a warm ovation of applause after each song was finished, which meant that the audience enjoyed the performance.

In conclusion, this concert at Mt. Sac by far was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. I’m thankful for my professor for letting me know about this concert which was an experience that I will never forget. I’m looking forward to attending more concerts in the future even if it’s not for a grade and I’ve always had a passion for music, so I might as well enjoy something that I like. At the end of the day, a concert is about teamwork and if there is only one person playing an instrument it’s just not the same when you have a team backing you up. There was no singing involved in this concert, but just how the instrument players would play their specific instrument it was real music to me because I could interpret their passion for music through how they played their instruments. I had a great time and I would like to attend more concerts more often.  

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