Jazz is alive and kicking, and despite the pandemic’s best efforts, it never really went away. In fact, the MacEwan University Big Band is taking a huge step in presenting its first public performance of the 2020-21 academic year.
The 19-piece big band will livestream a 50-minute concert from the Betty Andrews Recital Hall at MacEwan University at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30.
“In the past 10 months, this is the first time we get to present something for the public and that’s the most important celebration – sharing our music with family, friends and the general public,” said music director Ray Baril.
Now in its 46th year as the flagship ensemble of the MacEwan Music Dept., the big band will showcase star power music from the libraries of Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Ramirez and Tower of Power. Also highlighted are works by composers and arrangers Bill Homan, Billy May, Sammy Nestico, Fred Sturm and Michael Mossman.
The music department has operated in a blended yo-yo state since Alberta Health Services mandated initial restrictions last March and classes switched to online.
By September, instrumentalists and vocalists returned to a slightly more normal face-to-face classroom setting, wearing masks, using hand sanitizer and standing behind plexiglass shields when rehearsing. But in November, one theatre student contracted the virus and programs were shifted back online.
By Jan. 8, students were back face-to-face in the rehearsal hall itching to perform. Opening the concert program is a classic Count Basie chart. "Told You So," written and arranged by Holman, is a challenging medium swing piece.
“There’s a wonderful trombone solo by Peter Felice. He’s an up-and-coming trombonist in our city and he sounds absolutely amazing. For a student in his 20s, he sounds as if he’s been in the business 30 or 40 years. He’s quite mature.”
Next up is "Blues Walk," a melodic, fast-paced hard bop piece that the band plays as a Latin number.
“It’s a Clifford Brown chart. He was one of the most praised and respected trumpeters of the 1950s and 1960s. Unfortunately, he died in a car accident. It wasn’t drugs or alcohol. He was a very clean-living man. It just happened.”
Adding a different layer, vocalist Scotia Wills sings "The Very Thought of You," a classic 1930s ballad sung by every crooner in the American songbook.
In a fast forward to the 1970s, the funk band Tower of Power released the punchy, rhythmic "What is Hip."
“They were one of the first jazz-rock-funk bands. We have a couple of good solos with Holly Sangster, a third-year student playing alto sax and Graham Newburn as drummer.”
There’s no other tune quite as synonymous with Duke Ellington as "Satin Doll." And for Baril, it is a personal tribute to the arranger.
“The arrangement is by Sammy Nestico. He just died last week. He was one of the most prominent and prolific writers for big bands in the last 60 years. He was the Rolls Royce of big band jazz composers.”
Taking another swing at Latin music, the band also plays the sensual "Señor Castro" featuring two solos from Kessler Douglas (bass), Gareth Gilliland (guitar).
“The groove is a mambo. Like a lot of Latin music, it’s focused on dance. It’s very connected to body movement. It’s very brass oriented like trumpet and trombone. And it’s so dependent on having a great rhythm section. If your rhythm section doesn’t work, it doesn’t sound authentic."
Scotia Wills makes a second appearance singing Ella Fitzgerald’s seductive "That Old Black Magic," even as the band does a special jazz take on progressive rock band Radiohead’s "Bodysnatchers."
Baril invites audiences to reconnect with MacEwan’s musicians once more and feel their energy.
“Come and listen to what the next generation is doing. They are actively participating in the culture of music and keeping music traditions alive. It’s a look at what they can achieve.”
The free livestream is available at https://vimeo.com/501948497.
