Category — Music

I listen to a lot of music. I don’t identify myself as someone who listens to any one type of music–I enjoy rock, classical, rap, blues, folk, everything. However apart from listening to Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald every now and again, I have never been much of a listener to jazz. Although I have always appreciated jazz as a genre of music that takes an enormous amount of skill and finesse, I never took the time to listen closely to jazz and really explore it. I was really excited to see the jazz quartet at Juilliard because of this. I expected skill and perfection, but this performance exceeded my expectations.

I think the main reason why I never paid a huge amount of attention to jazz was because sometimes it feels a little all over the place–I would often find my mind wandering. I wouldn’t be able to focus on the music as much as something with a consistent melody. However during the performance at Juilliard, I found this to actually be something positive. The music, in its lack of consistent melody or lyrics, was meditative. I could clear my mind and fully immerse my brain in the sounds of the smooth, flowing jazz.

I really admired the saxophonist. Clearly, he was a master of his instrument; but not just musically. Seeing the way he moved while playing and the way he interacted with the other members of the band changed my entire listening experience. I felt connected with the players, and I feel like jazz is special in that way because it speaks to you without words.

I think my favorite part of the whole experience was that it felt very much like New York City. There’s something really nice about being by Lincoln Center in the fall, with the cool sounds of jazz playing in your ears. It reminds me of walking through Central Park with a cup of coffee and the leaves crunching beneath your feet as you walk past a guy playing the saxophone on a bench. The music that the quartet was playing was so crisp and beautiful that it conjured up a lot of images and scenes in my head. It became more about an entire bodily and mental experience rather than just hearing beautiful sounds.

The performance at Juilliard really opened my eyes to jazz music. I think I will be listening to and exploring jazz a bit more now that I have had that experience.

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.

The Julliard Jazz Quartet was something different to see. It’s not that I’ve never seen live jazz, but I’ve never seen it with a large audience. I’ve been to other concerts, too (as I favored some more than others). But there was something intricate about the Jazz Quartet on Tuesday night.

As soon as the performance began, I couldn’t take my eyes off the drummer. I found his techniques and posture very exciting and calm at the same time. I’ve been playing the drums since I was in 5th grade, so I guess I was leaning towards the drummer in that way; it was more associative. The drummer seemed like he was leading and he was so interactive that I felt like I was part of the band. “Nutty” was a song that had a large drum solo and I guessed it before the song even started, which made me appreciate it even more. Although, I was ecstatic to hear and see this song, it wasn’t my favorite.

“For Duke” was my absolute favorite because of it’s softness. It’s something that is so hard to explain. The way I think about it is, there are songs that I have on my iTunes, but there are songs that I have both in my iTunes and my phone. That happens when I really like a song and that is how I felt about “For Duke”; I would put it in my phone to listen to as well.

I enjoyed going to the Julliard Jazz Quartet because it was a different experience that I would do again.

I’m unsure about how I feel about jazz as of right now. I think it would have to take some adjustment because I’m so used to listening to music with singers and for me I noticed that without a singer it just starts to seem like background music to me. Jazz singers are my favorite, next to soul and R&B singers. I got so excited when the drummer picked up the mic because I thought he was going to sing and from hearing his voice, it seemed like he could actually be able to sing well. I start zoning out for some reason which is something I’m hoping will change. I know that if I throw that habit out the window, I would have enjoyed my experience so much more. But my favorite piece of all was the last one called Little Jordan written by Karl Allen. The backstory was so sweet and listening to the piece, I felt like I can assume that it was about a child even without the backstory because of the change in dynamic. There were parts that seemed almost menacing and as if you were up to no good and then it goes to a softer tone that shows the love he has for his son even despite all of the trouble and destruction a little kid can bring. Even if they flush your most prized possession down the toilet, you can’t help but stop yourself from having a nervous breakdown when you seeing the loving smiles on their faces.

And on that note, love is exactly what you felt throughout the room. Not mushy gushy love, but the welcoming kind of feeling. The dynamic between the quartet and how Karl Allen was telling us how grateful they were for us and our support. It had this warming informal-ness that I loved. It was really that audience-performer relationship. At times my eyes would wander and I would look around at the other people in the audience. My eyes landed more often on two particular people in the front. One was an older woman, who had quite a unique hat on and she was basically dancing in her seat as was the other person I saw in the front. Their reactions to the quartet showed that this was definitely the music that they grew up with. That got me thinking about the differences between the music then and now. I bet some of the elders in that woman’s time probably were covering their ears in disgust just as my dad covers his ears whenever he hears music of today.

But anyways, I guess one other thing that had my confused about jazz initially was not knowing that some parts were improvised. Liz was sitting next to me and we were wondering why people were clapping in the middle of the piece, especially before the saxophonist began playing. That really amazes me. Some parts of the pieces,  I felt like I was at some fancy gala that required a glasses of champagne, black ties, passed hors d’oeuvres, and long sequined gowns – I though it was funny because Professor kept saying that he felt the need to be in a club, filled with smoke and what not. But, I guess that shows how much jazz has leaked through everything. I never really was associated with jazz except through the cocktail hours at weddings or the jazz some of my friends sang.

All-in-all, I’m extremely grateful for this experience. It has opened my eyes to the face that music can be beautiful even without a voice, and most of all I was able to get closer to the people in our class with the help of Snapchat and the amazing combination that smoked salmon and cream cheese make on a bagel.

*notice the red hat in the front – that was the woman I was talking about.

Everywhere I look people identify themselves based on their musical preferences. There are the Indie inspired teenagers, the Rock and Roll loving guys, the Classics admirers and many more. I was never able to solely identify myself with any of these groups, and after last Tuesday night I finally understand why.

Being part of any one of those stereotypes means that you always listen to songs within your genre. You listen to whatever fits that mold and leave room for little else. You become immediately dismissive, but there is so much wrong with that attitude! Going to the Jazz made me realize that all music is beautiful in its own way and should be discovered and listened to by everyone (as idealistic as that may sound). Even though Jazz doesn’t make me want to find the closest dance floor and start dancing, I still think it’s beautiful.

I was taken aback by the emotion that was tucked away in the music. Listening to each and every set was just like watching the plot unfold in a movie. The deep sound of the bass, the graceful notes coming from the piano, the dynamic beats of the drum, and the occasional presence of the saxophones painted a unique picture in my mind. Every set carried a different meaning that I would try to decode by using my imagination. My favorite technical aspect of the performance was when the drummer took out two feathery looking sticks and used those instead of the conventional drumsticks that he was using before. I never knew such a soft and soothing sound could come from drums, a percussion instrument!

My only complaint about the performance is that I found it strange to just sit around and watch people play music the way we did. For some strange reason I felt like Jazz would be much more enjoyable in a social setting where people could mingle and talk to one another without the fear of disrupting performers. I can’t wait to find a cool Jazz club to visit!