Jazz Band

On Wednesday night, with the electric candles' flicker glistening off of each black plastic-laden table and the cityscape draping the walls, the mood was set - for Jazz. Popular pieces performed by an ensemble entitled Bandwidth and arrangements by the Stevens Jazz Band filled the dimly-lit Bissinger Room in that quintessential jazz atmosphere.
To start Bandwidth, a medium-sized ensemble with a good mixture, range and balance of instruments came to the stage. They played a collection of tunes that helped the audience, predominantly family and Edwin A. Stevens Society members, reminisce about their AM radios and favorite stations' bandwidths; hence the name, or so I assume. The collection of songs with titles including Brown Eyed Girl, Build Me Up Buttercup and With a Little Help From My Friends, displayed the great abilities of each musician and the group as a whole. However, the group's performance clearly highlighted the vocals of Eric Anderson '08. In When a Man Loves a Woman, with the trumpet player Glenn Shevach '10 and saxophone players Justin Racelis '11 and Keith Coffey '11 stylishly side-swaying to side of Anderson, he gave the audience a song with such passion and power that the feelings expressed were unquestionable - he's a man, in love with a woman. In the other songs, the other members of the group also showed great talent. From Will Estes '10, who went from accordion to harmonica to keyboard seamlessly over the course of the performance, to Russell Jones '10 who had a flawless guitar solo in Addicted to Love; the first half of the evening served as a good opening, but could have just as easily been a standalone act. There were no warnings to the tragedy that would soon ensue.
After a brief intermission, the Stevens Jazz Band came on to play. The group is of good size, with many of the classic jazz instruments, although lacking on those with lower ranges. Within their repertoire, they had a wide variety of jazz pieces from the slower pace to the quicker swing-style. As their first piece, they performed an arrangement of the theme song of the popular kids show, Sesame Street. It had a jazzy bounce to it and featured the two freshmen track stars Jamie Brabston and Sonny Mackavage '11, on the flute. Although not normally associated with the typical jazz band, these flutes excelled. In a collection of other songs that were performed, Victoria O'Connor '11 took the lead with her vocals. Despite the difficulty of singing over many instruments, she accomplished the task with her wholesome voice. In At Last, the combination of her mezzo voice and the lower notes of the baritone saxophone made a true auditory experience. The player making those deep melodious tones was Kim Dikovics '10 and later on, in Moan'n, she really was able to show the power of the baritone sax, with great rhythm. The evening closed out with the song Birdland.