This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Featuring an original composition by music major Jack Furlong ’05 (Hopewell, N.J.), the Jazz Combo will present its second concert of the school year noon today in Williams Center for the Arts room 123.
The free event is sponsored by the music department. Dessert and beverages will be provided free of charge.
The group is comprised of Furlong, baritone saxophone; Chris Michaud, a senior double major in art and music from Millerton, N.Y., tenor saxophone; Brandon Cochenour, a senior electrical and computer engineering major from Lower Burrell, Pa, piano; Sean Comerford, a first-year student from Manhasset, N.Y., bass; and special guest drummer Glen Davis. They are directed by Neal Kirkwood, instructor of jazz piano at Lafayette.
The program will feature “Can’t Dance,” Joshua Redman; “Footprints,” Wayne Shorter; “Simone,” Furlong; “Four,” Miles Davis; “Birk’s Works,” Dizzy Gillespie; “Body and Soul,” Johnny Green; and “Idol Gossip,” Gerry Mulligan.
Michaud, Cochenour, and Furlong also will perform in the Jazz Ensemble concert tomorrow night.
The Jazz Combo has progressed significantly since last semester, when it formed and presented its first concert, notes Furlong.
“Overall, I think we’ve all learned a little more about jazz in general,” he says. “Neal has been a tremendous help in learning so much about it. Right off the bat, the number one thing the group has accomplished belongs to Sean Comerford, our bassist. He has picked up the ability to solo and solo well, which is probably the most beautiful thing I’ve seen all semester.
“Neal has done his part by teaching us all a little more about what jazz is like on the typical gig/bandstand. He’s given us an idea of what most jazz players have memorized, how they interact with the other players, and what they can accomplish on a given day. He’s personally taught me more about improvisation. I’ve noticed more aspects of improvising that I thought I was doing, but wasn’t. And he’s helped nail that down.”
Not having a drummer for most of the semester has turned out to be an advantage, allowing the musicians to determine their ability to keep time and figure out how to do so on their own.
“Once we had Glenn Davis sit in with us and play with us this semester, not only did the time improve, but he rubbed off on all of us,” says Furlong. “Similar to how Neal taught us, the experience Glenn brings with him is incredible, and we’ve been able to take that and feed off it. The aura that Glenn brings with him every time we play together is enough to make even the worst of jazz players play naturally better instantly.”
Furlong, who contributed two original songs to the Jazz Combo’s debut concert, wrote “Simone,” a reflection on a friendship and romance that ended badly. He began writing music at the beginning of 2002, sparked by an assignment in the Music Theory II course taught by Skip Wilkins, assistant professor of music. The result was a song called “Eating Ice Cream in the Dark.”
Around the same time that Furlong completed “Ice Cream,” he started forming Sax Appeal, a jazz band in his hometown that performed at Lafayette earlier this school year.
“The amount of potential we had for high school students plus one college student (which changed down the line like all bands do) was incredible, and the fact that they had some of the best taste in music for high school students was wonderful,” he says. “These guys were listening to Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane instead of the hip-hop and pop music stars. And with the potential to put out an album, I knew I had to continue writing — especially since I wanted to avoid all copyright laws.”
“Simone” was conceived before “Ice Cream,” but Furlong didn’t write it out until he needed a ballad for his band.
“I was inspired by all the work we were studying in Theory II with progressions, so I included that in the motives I was using,” he explains. “Those ideas formed the A section easily. I had to come up with a B section (bridge), so I sat down at the piano and just started playing triads that seemed to fit. Rather than try to make the chords more complicated and come up with a melody, I thought this would be the perfect way to have instruments talk to one another. Since the A section was only baritone sax alone, I had the bridge be completely open and let the guitar improvise over it, and with the lack of guitar in combo, I just let Brandon Cochenour take over on piano.”
The music department’s strengths include dedicated, friendly faculty members, notes Furlong.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of professors who care so much for their music students that they are willing to bend their own rules frequently,” he says. “They have a great sense of humor, they relate to each student personally, and ultimately care for the music we makeMy best experience with the department was their ability to attract me. Throughout my college search, and even once I was determined on going here, I was unsure of what I was going to do with my life. And the ability to keep calm, keep cool, and just enjoy what the music students had to offer was enough for me to say that this was a good place to go. This department is not a Berkeley or Julliard where everyone must compete for the best spots. This department wants everyone to be making good music and loving it.”
Furlong is a member of the Jazz Ensemble and takes personal music lessons at Lafayette with instructors Cliff Tracy and Susan Charlton. He is co-host of a show on student radio station WJRH and leads a improvisational comedy group on campus. He also is student music director for the Newman Council and selects the songs for Catholic masses.