New Rochelle Jazz Festival, Essay Example

Jazz is one of the most expressive music genres in the contemporary scenario. Despite the genre characterizing the playlist of several radio stations and other musical avenues, the genre is bets experienced when the music is in a live setting. With this consideration, I was prompted to visit a couple of concerts in order to experience this soulful and rich music genre (Berg 79). In this endeavor, I attended the New Rochelle jazz festival and Jersey shore jazz and blues festival. These festivals provided an appropriate atmosphere for jazz fanatics to experience different styles of jazz from amateur and professional performers. The two festivals provided diverse experiences of the genre providing the attendants with a better understanding of jazz in the contemporary scenario.

As aforementioned jazz is a sophisticated music genre. In the contemporary scenario, this genre is associated with the mature demographics. This attitude is slowly changing with younger audiences characterizing jazz festivals. This was evident in the New Rochelle jazz festival in New York whereby the audience had a significant number of youths. The performances, which consisted of amateurs and professional jazz artists, resonated well with the audience with most of the individuals providing critical analysis of the performance according to their interpretations (Berg 23).  The most memorable performance in the festival for me was the performance by Heinz Saucer, a German saxophonist who collaborated with pianist Michael Wollny. This partnership was unique since the two performers had a significant difference in their ages. This gave a new dimension of their music whereby the contemporary and traditional jazz influences were apparent. Saucers style had the characteristics of a lyrical but breathy tune from the saxophone. Their combination was exquisite in the ballad make you feel my love by Dylan, whereby their styles presented arguable one of the best cross generational jazz collaborations I have ever experienced.  Despite the exceptional performance by the aforementioned artists, the amateur performers also made an impression with new and innovative jazz styles, but were a little naive and timid in their musical expression. Despite this, the festival provided an admirable cocktail of contemporary and traditional versions of jazz music much to the appreciation of the audience (Harnum 54).

In the second concert, which was in, New Jersey, the Jersey shore jazz and blues festival. The festival featured Ambrose Akinmusire, a Californian trumpeter and his quintet of jazz artists, where the group performed a 15-minute mind-blowing session of fervent music.  The use of instruments by the group created the impression of a short narration with each instrument adding an element into the story. The high notes from the trumpet were complemented by the sustained rhythmic pace of the pianist and tenor saxophonist. The influence of the other members allowed the trumpeter to express himself creating a feel that the performance was narrating a story. This piece left the audience speechless due to the vividness of the emotions explored in the piece. The performance was preceded by basement jaxx whose performance had jazz elements complemented by the silky voice of Vulu Mulinga. The performance by this group almost rivaled the aforementioned artists. This was mainly because of the vocalist’s ability to capture the audience with her emotional singing and sustained notes.  The festival was rich in jazz traditions hence was instrumental in enhancing my understanding of the genre.

Conclusion

In order for an individual to comprehend the sophisticated genre of jazz, it is essential to have firsthand experience of the music. This is facilitated by live concerts whereby audiences are given opportunities to interact with jazz artists who have diverse interpretations of the genre. My experience in the aforementioned festivals bolstered my knowledge of the genre by complementing my theoretical knowledge.

Works cited

Berg, Shelly. Alfred’s Essentials of Jazz Theory: Lessons, Ear Training, Workbook. Van Nuys,   Calif: Alfred Pub Co, 2006. Print.

Harnum, Jonathan. Basic Jazz Theory: Volume 1. United States?: Sol Ut Press, 2010. Print.