Review: The Art of Jazz Series at Emens Auditorium
by Sean Armie
"This is the American orchestra" Jeff Rupert said to a group of mostly high school jazz musicians at Emens Hall Saturday night. He was pointing to the Ball State Jazz Lab Ensemble, a 19- piece group that followed Rupert through a vibrant six-song set at the Art of Jazz Series Concert during the 40th annual Dimensions in Jazz High School Jazz Band Festival. It was an all day event where high school jazz bands from cities across Indiana including Valparaiso, Terre Haute, Bloomington, Carmel, Noblesville, Zionsville, Kokomo and Muncie, participated in a variety of clinics and competitions instructed and judged by great jazz instructors from all over the country. It culminated with the Art of Jazz Series concert.
Rupert, professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Central Florida, was this year's guest artist and led the Ball State Jazz Lab Ensemble in a rendition of one of Rupert's own tunes "B.M.O.C.," written for Rupert's former band leader, the great Maynard Ferguson. It was a swinging tune that featured a few stunning solos by Rupert and highlighted the potential power of a big band when utilizing all of its weapons. Next was "Bad Moon," another Rupert penned song and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Agua De Beber," a bossa nova jazz standard.
Following Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's "Speak Low" and Rupert's take on the "Creole Love Crawl" was the night's close "Eternal Triangle," an epic tune written by Sonny Stitt and originally performed by Stitt and legends Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Rollins. It was an appropriate closer to the night, one that especially embodied what Rupert called the "collaborative spirit of jazz" as it gave a variety of soloists (including Ball State Jazz Studies Director Mark Buselli showcasing his trumpet chops) the opportunity to demonstrate the unique "free nature and group effort" of this quintessentially American form of music.
Related Locations
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Emens Auditorium
- 2000 W. University Ave., Muncie North (general) Indiana 47306
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800-382-8540
- cms.bsu.edu/Web/Emens.aspx
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