On Friday, March 27, the Redfern Arts Center hosted Keene State College’s Jazz Combos performance in the Alumni Recital Hall.
The performance was split into two parts, each one having a performance by one of the combos. The 3 p.m. combos opened the show while the 4 p.m. combos closed it out.
The combos opened with tunes such as “There Will Never Be Another You” and “500 Miles High,” along with some recognizable melodies from the 3 p.m. combos such as “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and a jazz-composed version of “Toxic” by Britney Spears.
The combos even had a piece written by a member of the 3 p.m. combos. Junior May Cassidy composed “Steven,” written and created with knowledge of older jazz combinations.
After a brief intermission, the 4 p.m combos ended the show with “Well, You Needn’t, Misty, Summer Breeze, 8:16,” and “Sonnymoon for Two.”
During the combos, senior Sophie Markey sang for “Misty,” which audience members and fellow performers, such as junior Hailey Taylor who was the Euphonium player for the 3 p.m. combos, spoke highly of.
“I really liked hearing Sophie sing,” Taylor said. “Honestly, my most favorite part about the performance was actually being in the audience and watching the other combo perform. It’s way different than performing, and it gives you a different perspective even though you’re technically performing in it.”
Adjunct faculty and Jazz Combos Director Steven Cady spoke highly of the performers and their abilities shown both during rehearsals and during the performance.
“The students always rise to the occasion,” Cady said. “We have a very, very short rehearsal process that’s very early on in the semester. Folks are busy, so it’s always really impressive to just see them use their very high musical acumen to play at a level which is perhaps well above that which we were mechanically prepared for.”
One thing that stood out to attendees was seeing the performers call out and work together during the performance. One of these audience members was community member Kendl Vance.
“The performance was so much more different than a normal concert,” Vance said. “It was interesting to try and figure out what they were saying to one another on stage. It’s like they have their own musical language, but all the performers seemed so supportive of one another.”
The performers rely on one another and work together to give the performance, which was seen clearly by the audience and felt between the performers themselves.
“The rehearsals tend to be the most phenomenal parts of my week,” Taylor said. “Even though we’re always working for a concert, it’s like a moment where I can finally breathe. When I get to the end of the week, I get to look for my closest friends. It’s just one of those things where you trust everyone around you, even if things go right or wrong. It will happen how it’s gonna happen, and you handle it together as a group.”
Michael Ardita can be contacted at
