I attended the Brazz jazz ensemble performance on March 6. It was one of the Wednesday Noon Hours at the UBC School of Music, so it was just one hour long and during a lunch period. As someone who was not too interested in jazz, I wanted to give this performance a shot to see if it could captivate even someone like me who doesn’t usually look for jazz music to listen to. I’m glad I saw it, and in particular this one, because the concert seemed fairly informal so there was humour being thrown around and I really enjoyed how much fun it looked like the performers were having. Rather than showing a pressure to do their absolute best, it seemed more casual, which does not mean non-rehearsed, which I appreciated. It seemed like the players were very experienced in what they do, and so they were able to have more fun playing.
The ensemble consisted of various brass instruments, such as the trumpets, trombones, base trombones, french horns, euphoniums, and tubas, as well as a piano, bass, and drums to act as accompaniment. The sound was quite large for the hall size, which I believe is why many of the trumpets had trumpet mutes on, to ensure the sound would not be overwhelming. As jazz often is, the played set had very many vibrant and energetic songs, which made it fun to listen along to.
The program consisted of: “A Sleeping Bee”, “Fanfare for the Common Man”, “Jitterbug Waltz”, “El Camino Real”, “Higher Grooving’”, “Nite Life”, and “Close Your Eyes”. I appreciated that, while sticking to a fairly consistent theme throughout the concert, the chosen songs displayed different sides of jazz. Some were very upbeat, while others very a bit more laidback. Out of these, I especially enjoyed “A Sleeping Bee” because it was very upbeat and I felt that it was a really good way to start the concert and prepare the listeners to be introduced to the world of jazz. I felt that the sound seemed very diverse and rich, and from reading the program, this may be a result of the ensemble having players from various backgrounds. I noticed that some of the musicians had a jazz background, while some had a classical one. While they may seem very different, I think these varying backgrounds allowed for a richer sound and one that you wouldn’t easily find elsewhere.
I personally enjoyed this concert thoroughly, and I recommend that anyone, even someone who isn’t particularly interested in jazz, as I was, attend one of these Brazz concerts if they have the chance.