This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only.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.
The Jazz Quintet will perform a concert featuring several student arrangements and an original song 8 p.m. Monday at the Williams Center for the Arts.
The free event is sponsored by the music department.
Dave Mitchell ’05 (Bear Creek, Pa.), a double major in music and economics & business, who is performing on trombone, piano, and vocals, arranged “Alone Together” byDietz & Schwartz. He also collaborated with drummer Ing-Chea Ang ’04 (Penang, Malaysia), a double major in mechanical engineering and mathematics & economics, to arrange Joshua Redman’s “Hide and Seek.”
Music major Jack Furlong ’05 (Hopewell, N.J.), who is performing on baritone sax, flute, and vocals, wrote “Eating Cookies in the Closet” and arranged “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” by Rodgers & Hart as well as “Super Mario Bros. 2”byKoji Kondo.
Ensemble director Neal Kirkwood, performing on piano and vibraphone, arranged “Skippy” by Theolonious Monk. The program also includes “No Me Esqueca” by Joe Henderson and “Eighty One”byRon Carter.
Also performing will be music major Sean Comerford ’06 (Manhasset, N.Y.) on acoustic bass and electric bass.
“The combo has a really interesting and varied program plannedThere might even be a surprise or two,” says Kirkwood, a performing artist and composer/arranger who teaches jazz piano at Lafayette and is very active on the contemporary music scene. He received a bachelor’s of music and master’s in music composition from Mannes College of Music and has had additional studies at the Julliard School and North Texas State University. He has won numerous awards for composition and maintains a busy performance schedule.
Now in its fourth semester, the Jazz Quintet has increased its instrumental versatility this spring. Kirkwood began playing piano and vibraphone for the group, while Comerford started playing upright bass as well as electric, adding a new timbre to the rhythm section. Mitchell filled in the considerable gap left by the graduation of Chris Michaud ’03by picking up the bass trombone and has been playing tenor trombone and piano as well as singing. Furlong has been playing flute with the group as well as baritone sax and is joining with Mitchell on vocals for one piece.
“Overall, I think our level of playing has improved some, and we’ve grown tighter as a group,” says Furlong. “I learn a lot from Neal and I value the experience of the quintet. I think I can say the same for the other guys. We have so much fun at rehearsals that it’s never a drag to have to show up. It’s more of a pleasure.”
The arrangements this year have been “incredibly interesting,” notes Furlong.
”’No Me Esqueca’ was suggested to us by (assistant professor of music) Skip Wilkins one night when he was filling in for Neal,” he says. “It was a bit of a challenge, but we worked through it and really got it quite solid. ‘Alone Together’ was an arrangement that Dave had been working on for him on piano. He decided to incorporate it into the quintet, and it has a unique feel for the tune that is quite catchy. ‘Eighty One’ is a blues song that Sean was studying, so he suggested it one day and we decided it was a good fit.”
“’Skippy’ is a Monk tune that Neal had been working on,” he continues. “It is incredibly challenging, but we added a twist to make it easier: Dave and I are singing it as a jazz scat. Not only does it make the tune easier, it puts a smile on our faces when we do it. Who would have ever thought the two of us would duo on vocals for a tune like that?”
“Hide and Seek,” an “incredibly difficult” song to transcribe for Mitchell, was suggested by Ang., while “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” is a ballad that Furlong was working on in his jazz piano lessons.
“My goal was to create an arrangement for my band at home, Sax Appeal, so that my mom could sing it with us since she is an incredible singer,” says Furlong. “Neal suggested we do it as a change of pace in the middle of the concert and that we do it as a duet between me and him. It’s a beauty of a tune.”
“Eating Cookies In The Closet” is a follow-up to a Furlong tune performed at the group’s concert last spring, “Eating Ice Cream In The Dark.”
“As cheesey as the titles are, they fit well with the mood of the pieces,” says Furlong. “It’s a simple blues tune that lends itself to a three-part harmony that builds. My band at home was exposed to it before the quintet, and they fell in love with it, so I thought it would a good tune to bring in this year.”
“Super Mario Bros. II” follows last semester’s performance of the original “Super Mario Bros.”
“This semester, Neal, Dave, and I were having a discussion of tunes we needed to add to our repertoire, and Neal thought we should get a fast tune,” explains Furlong. “I started singing ‘Super Mario Bros. 2’ and Dave immediately joined in. Neal said, ‘Perfect! What’s it called?’ I told him the name and he immediately said ‘no!’ It was pretty funny. However, I went ahead and brought it in anyway and he’s okay with it. That’s what happens when you give a nerdy music major some free time and the ability to transcribe these tunes.”
Other upcoming music department concerts at the Williams Center include the orchestra 7 p.m. Sunday, April 25, directed by Stephani Bell; Concert Choirs, 8 p.m. Saturday, May 1, and 3 p.m. Sunday, May 2, directed by Nina Gilbert; and Jazz Ensemble, 8 p.m. Friday, May 7, directed by Ken Brader.
In addition, the Performance Class will give a recital 6 p.m. Monday, May 3, in Interfaith Chapel, Hogg Hall, featuring string, wind chamber, guitar, and brass ensembles.
The student Wind Chamber Ensembles and Concert Band gave a concert April 19.
Past Jazz Quintet/Combo articles:
Fall semester 2003
Spring semester 2003
Fall semester 2002