Review: SWE, Jazz concert enthralls

Laura Gieseking
Staff Writer
Feb. 26, 2006, Page 7

I must admit, I was hesitant to the idea of giving up my beautiful spring-like afternoon to watch the homecoming concert of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Let’s just say my attitude changed as soon as the first notes of the Jazz Ensemble entered my ears. Now, this was entertainment.
Heckman was transformed into a 1940s jazz club. The brass instruments glistened like gold trophies, the stage was spotlighted by three giant circles and the faint sound of tapping fingers could be heard from the audience. The trumpet and trombone players covered their instrument openings with the same plastic coverings as Louis Armstrong, my idol, would use to create the soul-whining sound only meant for jazz.
Jay Gilbert, Doane band director, stood proudly off to the side of the stage, conducting by simply snapping his fingers and tapping his left foot to the rhythm. He allowed the students to find the beat within themselves. Jazz is not just notes on a sheet of music. It is soul.
The Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz Quintet played from their souls. They belted out songs like “Dizzy,” Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia” and Ellington’s “C Jam Blues,” without a hitch.
Freshman Allen Gilbert moved the crowd to cat calls after he performed a vibrant, powerful drum solo and junior Scott Morris’s ability to play the saxophone was simply breathtaking. The audience was left speechless after every solo. The predecessors of these pieces would have stood in ovation to the ensembles’ performance. Each instrumentalist was feeling his or her own vibe, yet they gelled as one synchronized jazz band.
The faces on stage were young college students, the sounds of a few squeaks were heard and the flashing of a proud parent’s camera would go off in mid-performance, but these musicians were the real thing.
The ensemble must have been worn out from being on tour in Omaha, but amidst their busy schedules, they created something beautiful.