1 Day to go!!!!!

1 Day to go, and last night's rehearsal was awesome! We have some of the finest Jazz musicians from around Missouri who will be with us tomorrow night, which is sure to be "Unforgettable" which incidentally is one of the songs our soloist Nancy Kelly is going to sing. At Coffee and Classics at Borders last night I interviewed her and she discussed the program and then did an impromptu scat to the recording I had of Count Basie's One O'Clock Jump:

Listen to Nancy Kelly at Borders

Also yesterday at Rotary Club Southeast where I am a member, I brought with me a group from MSU's Jazz Symposium which is directed by Saxophonist Randy Hamm (also a soloist tomorrow night). The group is called "Groove Unit", and Jacob Hiser who plays in our 1st Violin section is their Pianist. I recorded their performance, here's one of the selections:

500 Miles by Chick Corea

Jazz for me has always felt authentic. Great melodies, harmonies, virtuosity, creativity and personality are needed in equal measure just like in Classical music. At its very best Jazz is a visceral experience when either listening or playing Jazz. I feel the same way about Classical music and composers such as Bernstein, Stravinsky, Copland and especially Gershwin incorporated Jazz into their compositions. There are many other parallels with Classical music along with iconic performers and composers that helped shape America’s cultural landscape. Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck (who recently appeared here at Juanita K Hammons Hall), all geniuses.

Tonight we combine an Orchestra and a Big Band to create a HUGE BAND! If you look along our Trombone section you will see Bill Hartmann on Bass Trombone. He actually played with Stan Kenton (who visited Springfield several times) and so playing a Kenton Medley tonight will surely bring special memories for him, and hopefully for you. Randy Hamm has arranged Laura transcribing it directly from the Charlie Parker with Strings album. Nancy Kelly our vocalist as you will hear in Aint Nobody’s Business channels Billie Holiday whilst bringing her own unique style and sound to all the numbers she sings. We have assembled some of the finest Jazz musicians from around Missouri to make this a night to remember!

I wrote a post last November called “Save the Wails” on my blog Sticks and Drones about the disappearing Jazz Club establishment. I make a suggestion at the end of the post which I am hoping to act upon, to start Jazz in the lobby after our concerts. You can read it Here

See you tomorrow!!!

Ron Spigelman

Jazzing it UP - 4 days to go!

This Saturday is our Swing Swing Swing extravaganza!  It is our first Crescendo event of the season and I will be in the Fuldner lounge prior to the concert to welcome you all.  There will be a Jazz combo for your pre-concert entertainment and of course fine food, drink and company.  On Thursday we will be at Borders starting at 5:30pm and our special guest is Jazz Vocalist Nancy Kelly who will talk about her career as a Jazz singer.  Find out if there's anything behind singing the blues! It is not too late to join Crescendo.  Just call 864 6683!

For the next few days I will preview my program notes in sections.  Part 1:

Although I spend most of my time now in the realm of Classical music, it certainly didn’t start that way.  When I started playing the Trumpet at 7 years old, initially I didn’t learn to read music, I learnt everything by ear.  I believe this gave me my instincts for music as I wasn’t working things out by reading, but instead I was feeling, listening and watching.  The first musical group I joined was my school Jazz band in the 5^th grade, and I didn’t join an orchestra until two years after that.  Jazz essentially is where I got my start and it holds a special place for me still.  When 2 years ago I was on Dr. Nietzel’s round table radio show on KSMU discussing the arts, one of the questions was: what is missing from the arts scene in Springfield? Without hesitation, I said a vibrant jazz scene. There was certainly more than a little surprise from the other participants that I the Symphony music director would say that, but Dr. Nietzel agreed and it is a credit to him that more Jazz is appearing on campus being lead by one of our soloists tonight, Missouri State Music faculty member and master Saxophonist  Randy Hamm. 

Ron Spigelman