Concert Review
On Friday, March 22nd 2019, the University of Central Florida (UCF), conducted Orlando Jazz Festival Concert I. this was the 12th annual UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival, which included the clinics and the master class performances by international artists. The chief guest trumpeter of the concert was Josh Groban. There were thirteen collections lined up for performance during the concert. In total, the jazz ensembles (big band) performed thirteen pieces. The concert presented three different styles of pieces that allowed the audience on this first day to experience various sounds of jazz music. “Waltz for Debby”, “Fly me to the moon” and “Ancient memories” took the lead of the day in telling stories just like the other music.
The program coordinators and the concert ambassadors issued the congregants with the program notes in the beginning. The history of music in the 20th century and the romantic pieces dominated the program list. “Waltz for Debby” was a consonant piece, characterized with a slow-beat waltz. This piece had a coherent texture throughout the concert with a noticeable 1, 2, 3 rhythmic pattern. The trumpet, saxophone, and the electric guitar all took a turn at the melodic sound during the performance, and they did so in the form of the solos. The dynamics of the song increased to a moderate level before having a decrescendo to softer levels in a reasonable manner. The ensemble kept with the beat and moved the audience in a big way.
“Ancient memories” was another moving piece during the night of the concert. The guest trumpeter began this piece with dissonant tones within the harmony. The piece had an introduction of a piano and drums. The song changed into a more consistent harmony which dominated the rest of its performance. The song had a polyphonic texture between the piano and trumpet. In some places, the melody of the song was bright and happy, more relaxing and cool in some parts as the tempo shifted. The composer held the notes for the trumpet for emphasis. This song exhibited many dynamics. It began with a crescendo from very soft to very loud, and it maintained this pattern to the end before getting reversed.
“Fly Me to the Moon” was a very romantic piece from the beginning of the first note. This was the most intriguing music because of its romantic nature. The organizers of the concert arranged this type of performance to round up the performances with romance, which would take the students into the sea of unending romantic feelings. The song displayed dialogue without the use of words to give it a sexy and passionate rhythm. The ensemble spiced this piece with steadiness, and the solo provided a further extended dialogue. The feeling was related to that of dancing and twirling in the moonlight. This song moved me like the instrumentals of “My Heart Will Go On” in the way it tells the story just like the lyrics of Celine Dion. Listening to this song was a fantastic experience, and the jazz concert was worth my time.
The jazz festival concert at the University of Central Florida was an enjoyable event. The concert at the UCF was a new experience because it made me meet the internationally claimed artists. I have been looking up to these individuals in my music career. The concert provided an ample platform for exchanging ideas, and this was the most impressive part for me as a music student who pursued this assignment. Diversity in the field of music is an important factor the performers took into consideration (Benedek, 119). When we view music from the ancient roots, we realize it has roots from other genres. If an individual recognizes this fact, it makes such a person diversified in nature. The experience at the UCF concert was awesome, which I would have missed if not for this assignment.
Work Cited
Benedek, Mathias, et al. “Creativity and personality in classical, jazz and folk musicians.” Personality and individual differences 63 (2014): 117-121.