Juilliard Jazz Quartet

The Juilliard Jazz Quartet was the first musical band of any genre that I have seen live. So, in a sense, my concert virginity was taken from me.

First of all, I wan’t completely sold on the idea of Jazz. I had never listened to jazz, and didn’t know of any one who did. The only experience I had with Jazz was listening to my high school jazz band., and that wasn’t a great experience. Therefore, I was apprehensive when attending the Jazz Concert, unsure of my reaction to the performance.

The Juilliard Jazz Quartet blew my mind. These guys, probably some the best in the country, were  unbelievable. I especially enjoyed Ron Blake’s composition, “Ah, Rio”. The piece had a smoothness to it that I couldn’t seem to find in any other piece. However, there were moments during the concert where I felt the music was choppy, and out of sync. Maybe it was because of my inexperience with Jazz music. While I was listening to the concert, I would sometimes close my eyes, in my attempt to experience jazz in a new sense. I felt that with my eyes closed, I was able to hear the music as a cohesive unit, with no one instrument capturing my attention more than the other, than when I listened with my eyes opened, at which point my focus would land directly on Ron Blake and his saxophone.