Concert features tributes to Count Basie, Duke Ellington Orchestras
URI’s Jazz Big Band plays songs tributing Count Basie and Duke Ellington Orchestras. PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Clark
On Thursday, Oct. 28, the University of Rhode Island Big Band blew everyone away in the Fine Arts Center Concert Call as they presented “Basically Basie,” a tribute performance of the music of Count Basie Orchestra and Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Doors opened at 8 p.m. and entry required a QR code of a pre-paid ticket, providing easy contactless access. The doors of the concert hall opened to reveal a dazzling purple-lit stage set with instruments and stands labeled “URI Jazz.”
Some members of the band came out and began to play their first piece, “Blues in Hoss Flat” by Frank Foster, to start off the concert, while more musicians joined in throughout the performance. As they finished, Emmett Goods, assistant professor of music/teacher in jazz trombone, came out and began to conduct the band, turning the first piece into a marvelous blues tune.
The band finished and Goods welcomed everyone back after their last show got cancelled almost 20 months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We never got to do our show in [2020] so we are excited to be able to perform in person again,” Goods said.
He explained that the Count Basie Orchestra started small and grew in popularity, eventually becoming a world success. In the early 1950s, Count Basie began his band’s rise to success sparking a new jazz era called “bebop,” involving lots of blues and becoming the set standard for the sound.
There were 12 pieces performed at the concert, featuring works of composers such as Frank Foster, Thad Jones (an alumni of the Count Basie Orchestra), Quincy Jones (who recorded Michael Jackson’s music) and Ernie Wilkins.
Two pieces were conducted by graduate student assistants. The first was “HRH (Her Royal Highness)” by Thad Jones, conducted by graduate assistant Ben Marcotte. This piece sounded very fancy and definitely felt like it was written for the queen. It had a very blues-y feel to it and featured a fantastic saxophone solo by Fernando Marzan.
The second was “The Deacon,” also by Thad Jones, conducted by graduate assistant Daniel Mach-Holt. It felt very bebop with a lot of runs, a powerful bass played by Wyatt Crosby and a lot of beautiful soulful piano from freshman Mason Tucker.
For the pieces “Shiny Stockings” by Frank Foster, “Teach Me Tonight” arranged by Dave Wolpe and “Everyday I Have the Blues” arranged by Roger Holmes, Goods introduced vocalist Tara Gozaydin, who wore a gorgeous sparkling black fringe dress and had a stunning jazzy voice that echoed through the concert hall. Goods welcomed everyone in the audience to dance with their partners and friends in front of the stage to the jazz tunes.
One of the members of the audience shared that she used to play jazz herself but now watches the performances from the other side.
“Jazz is such a beautiful genre,” she said. “It is so powerful and makes you feel so good.”
The next URI Big Band concert will be Dec. 4, when the band will collaborate with the URI Orchestra to perform a jazz versus classical version of “The Nutcracker.” For more information on events and tickets, visit the music department’s website.