On March 6th I attended the Brazz jazz ensemble performance, one of the wednesday noon hour concerts at the school of music. As a lover of jazz music I was excited to watch this performance, and glad I had the opportunity to see it at UBC. The ensemble, made up of all Brass instruments, hence the name Brazz, played a selection of jazz arrangements ranging from jazz standards, to a Willie Nelson number and more contemporarily written pieces. Using a vibrant mix of trumpets, trombones, french horns, euphoniums, tuba and piano, bass and drums to accompany, Brazz’s large ensemble created a rich big band sound, immersing everyone listening in the dynamic and punchy sounds of the brass instruments.
Unlike some of the other smaller jazz ensembles that I have seen, who practice more improvising and musicians taking turns soloing, this big band ensemble played more similarly to how I would imagine an orchestral ensemble, with a very rehearsed, tight sound. Despite this, surprisingly to me the conductor Fred Stride, who was also the pianist, did little to really lead the musicians, only really giving them the initial rhythm and cue to start playing, and then making sure that they all finished together. For me this really showed how professional and in tune with each other these musicians were. They worked together like a collective organ with the rhythm section providing a steady driving beat that allowed the other musicians to keep in perfect time together. This more orchestral sound, also could be due to how the musicians playing were a mixture of professional working jazz musicians, and classical musicians who would be more familiar playing fully written orchestral scores, as opposed to the more loosely written jazz arrangements.
The program included the songs: A Sleeping Bee, Fanfare for the Common Man, Jitterbug Waltz, El Camino Real, Higher Groovin’, Nite Life, and Close Your Eyes. I thought this program really showcased the range of musical textures that can be achieved by brass instruments, with a mix of more slower tempoed ballads, swing numbers, and upbeat latin inspired numbers. I particularly enjoyed the song Higher Groovin’ written by the conductor Fred Stride, as it had many changes in meter throughout the song, giving it a highly energetic sound, which you could tell the musicians were very aware of, and imparted an energy onto the audience that kept them on the edge of their seats. I was also very appreciative to hear the solo musicians that were featured in the ensemble, as they were able to take musical motifs from each song and work within the key structure to produce improvised solos. It reminded me of the cadenza that we discussed in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, in which he left no written cadenza so soloists have to write their own. Similarly jazz solos are the opportunity for the musicians to showcase their musicality and skill and create a melody that is entirely their own to add to the piece.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this concert going experience and would recommend to anyone in this class to see Brazz if they have the opportunity!