LBCC’s choir and Big Bands ditched the Santa hats and jingle bells for their end of the year concert and instead highlighted the complex, raw sounds of jazz music through performances that put their individual talents on full display.
Friday’s jazz concert featured the Evening Jazz Choir and the Lyrical Workers under the direction of Andrea Calderwood and the Daytime and Evening Big Bands under the direction of Patrick Sheng.
“We’re not singing tonight, but we’re happy to be here,” said Ntombi Peters, who has been singing in the Evening Jazz Choir for over 15 years. “It’s nice to show support and see what others are working on.”
The Evening Jazz Choir, under the direction of professor Andrea Calderwood, started the night with four songs, including a song by Barry Manilow accompanied by drums, piano and bass.
True to the theme, a few of the students performed scat solos, the improvised imitation of jazz instrumentation using one’s voice.
The Lyrical Workers, an audition-only group, performed another four songs, one of which was arranged by Benjamin Nicholas, a jazz and composition student at CSULB.
“It’s gratifying and affirming to hear my work sung so beautifully,” Nicholas said.
The Lyrical Workers are gearing up to attend a conference in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz music.
During Friday’s show, they sang an acapella rendition of Billie Eilish’s “My Future” that moved a few audience members to tears.
After a brief intermission, the daytime big band performed a set that started with a solo sung by Jocelyn Berry, during which the band provided backup harmonies with the vigor and showmanship of big bands from the 50’s.
Then, they were joined on stage by saxophonist and recording artist, Kirsten Edkins.
One of the songs they performed is an original by Edkins titled “Party Slug,” an ode to a cat she once had.
During the song, Edkins was joined by Daphne Gilwedel, a saxophonist in the daytime big band.
“It felt kind of surreal,” Gildwedel said of her solo with Edkins. “She brought up the idea of us having a conversation with our instruments. I had a really great time.”
The set also included a song by Thad Jones during which pianist Kenny Evangelista had a solo that was long, loud and energetic.
His hands crossed over one another, fingers traveling from one end to the other and back again, a wry smile on his face.
The show ended with a set by the Evening Big Band during which they paid homage to legendary jazz musician Thad Jones during which they were joined by professor Patrick Sheng who played saxophone with them.
Jones’s music is playful and full of attitude with sounds that start off quiet and build into loud, unchained crescendos.
LBCC’s singers and musicians embodied the spirit of jazz for a night that displayed all the work that went into learning the complexities associated with the genre.