PREVIEW
Big Band Concert
MacEwan University Department of Music
Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Triffo Theatre, Allard Hall
11110 – 104 Ave.
Tickets: Visit [email protected]
With all the events going on, it’s easy for area jazz fans to forget how deep an impact MacEwan University music students make when it comes to playing swing, Latin, funk and of course jazz.
Across several decades graduates have formed bands, played clubs and concert halls, recorded albums and spent time passing on their craft to a younger generation of eager musicians.
Once again faculty members have fused together the annual winter Big Band Concert, a dynamic, exciting evening of music on Tuesday, Dec. 11, at Triffo Theatre at Allard Hall.
Professors Raymond Baril and Jerrold Dubyk lead two sets of vibrant, colourful sounds that include saxophones, trombones, trumpets and a rhythm section.
The concert also marks feature performances for two 2015 Bellerose Composite High alumni – jazz vocalist Hazel Cavida and trumpeter Andrew Demuynck.
Now in MacEwan’s fourth-year program, Cavida was tapped to perform two songs in Dubyk’s opening set.
“It’s very rare for Jerrold to have a vocalist in his band, so it’s very exciting for me to represent MacEwan through his band,” said Cavida, a member of the experimental jazz band The Odessey.
She’ll be singing the robust and eloquent lyrics from Ella Fitzgerald’s I Ain’t Got Nothing But the Blues, a lush song that presents a few challenges.
“I have to make sure I get all the nuances across and understand all the hardships people went through at the time. I have to get into the mental space and intentions of the song, and the way the emotions come across,” Cavida added.
She also sings the sweeter swing dance piece Cheek to Cheek.
“In this one I have to make sure the energy is there. It’s kind of romantic and I have to get that fluttery feeling when you’re dancing with someone you love.”
To vary the concert, Dubyk’s set also includes Gershwin’s inspired score Rhapsody in Blue as well as Josh Dagg’s Jack the Bear, a funky swing tune that features double bass.
In the Baril conducted second set, Demuynck receives the opportunity to solo in Moten Swing, a 1932 jazz standard by Bennie Moten but popularized by Count Basie.
“It’s new for me to be featured on a particular tune and I really have to step up my improvisation and get those complex chord changes nailed down,” said Demuynck, also a member of The Bare Bones Brass Band.
“It’s a medium swing and very stereotypical of the 1930s. It’s dynamic and very complex and goes from a quiet beginning to a loud and dramatic finish.”
Baril also included Sammy Nestico’s Magic Flea, an ebullient jazz chart that is played extremely fast. In addition, the band plays Bob Minzer’s Incredible Journey, a harmonically and rhythmically complex chart that layers into a beautiful number.
Vocalist David Unsworth, known for his theatrical voice, also joins the festivities adding new textures to the vocal ballad One For My Baby.
“It is very intense and has amazing harmonies. It’s my personal favourite.”
For music lovers who would like to get away from the saccharine music of Christmas, the jazz concert is a good opportunity to watch young talented musicians enjoy a victory lap.
