By Gwyneth Brown
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Columbia High School was filled once again with the smooth music of its jazz ensemble in a Feb. 24 concert in the school cafeteria and online. The jazz ensemble is a group of 28 talented musicians playing instruments that are part of either the rhythm or horn sections.
The concert began with “Four.” This piece was written by Miles Davis in 1954, though the ensemble used the arrangement by John Berry. Following this, were pieces including “Yardbird Suite,” written by Charlie Parker and arranged by Michael Sweeney, and “Keys to the Heart,” by Larry Neeck.
The energy of pieces, such as “Jumpin’ at the Woodside,” written by Count Basie and arranged by Paul Cook, and “Choo Choo Ch’boogie,” written by Vaughn Horton, Denver Darling and Milt Gabler, and arranged by Michael Sweeney, made the audience feel like getting up and dancing.
Between each piece, ensemble director Peter F. Bauer engaged the audience in humor.
“There isn’t a guy named Mongo who isn’t fun,” Bauer said, receiving many laughs, when discussing the piece “Afro Blue,” written by Mongo Santamaria and arranged by Sweeney.
“I try to touch as many bases as I can,” Bauer said when asked about the process of music selection for the concert.
This variety was evident in fun and unexpected pieces, such as the Latin tune “Oyeme,” by Carl Strommen.
While all of the selected pieces are great in general, they were truly brought to life by the CHS musicians. Each piece had one to four featured musicians who had unique solo parts.
Sally Shupe featured on guitar in the piece “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” composed by Benny Goodman and arranged by Sweeney. Similarly, Sam Dorbin and Katie Kampner featured in the piece “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” composed by Duke Ellington and arranged by Paul Cook, on the saxophone and trumpet, respectively.
Other remarkable soloists included Arushi Vadlamani on piano, Emily Donoghue on trumpet, Jessi Holdbrook on saxophone, Sophia Franklin on percussion, Molly Hurley on trombone, Sheila Holtschneider on guitar, Marley Striem on bass and Isabel Morgan on saxophone.
The final pieces of the concert included “How High the Moon,” composed by Nancy Hamilton and Morgan Lewis, and “Birdland,” composed by Josef Zawinul. Both were arranged by Sweeney.
Overall, the concert was a great celebration of the jazz genre and a demonstration of the high caliber of musical talent at CHS.
Gwyneth Brown is a student at Columbia High School.
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