Ensemble takes it outside

By Marcy Redmond

The Santa Clara Music Department's Jazz Ensemble is preparing to perform a free outdoor performance Tuesday for the Santa Clara community, and is making a lot of noise about it. The big band-style jazz group has been practicing long and hard for their moment to shine under the sun, and has resolved to bring a toe-tapping sound that will knock your socks off.

The Jazz Ensemble, made up of more than 15 members from throughout the Santa Clara community, includes trombones, trumpets, saxophones, drums, guitar and piano.

The musicians will collaborate to perform such contemporary jazz pieces as the boisterous train-mimicking "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and the fast-paced "Ol' Man River," which was written for the 1928 musical "Showboat."

The culmination of undergraduate students, graduate students, community members and the occasional professor has been busy throughout May, with four performances under their belts within the last several weeks. After entertaining the crowd at the opening of the new Santa Clara City Library, the ensemble has appeared at ROTC functions and street fairs. The members of the ensemble are now ready for a return home to Santa Clara and are eager to share their talents with fellow students and faculty colleagues.

The group's jazzy sound harkens back to the golden age of big band music and the heydays of jazz legends like Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. They will play selections from the best-known trumpet player of all time, Louis Armstrong, as well as from the Glenn Miller Orchestra of the 1930s. Various songs from Broadway musicals and other classical jazz standards will be featured as well. Most uniquely, audience members will hear the Irish rock sounds of "Celtic Air," a contemporary Celtic ballad.

John Russell, director of the ensemble, music department faculty member and trombone teacher, has been leading the group for nine years.

"It is going to be a joy to work outside in the beautiful California weather," Russell said. He thinks the afternoon sunshine in Cole Plaza will be a great place for students to "throw a blanket down and hear some great music."

"Everyone even remotely familiar with jazz will recognize many of the tunes as something they've heard before," Russell said.

This performance will be a memorable experience, even for those who haven't been to a jazz concert.

It may also be a step back into the days of junior high and high school band camp for those who played musical instruments earlier in their lives, but may have forgotten the fun and rambunctious enthusiasm that are part of playing with a musical group in front of an audience.

Take a trip back in time to the 1930s, or maybe a shorter trip back to middle school, and see the Jazz Ensemble concert.

Bring friends or family and a picnic to Cole Plaza on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and give yourself some relief from the chaos of dead week.

Cole Plaza is located in the amphitheater between Mayer Theater and the Music and Dance Building, just a short walk across the lawn between Mayer Theater and O'Connor Hall.

û Contact Marcy Redmond at (408) 554-4546 or mredmond@scu.edu.