Jazz Concert Critique

The Santa Fe Evening of Jazz was a great concert featuring the Rhythm and Blues, Jazz Combo, and Big Band from Santa Fe College with special guest Professor Scott Wilson from the University of Florida Jazz Studies. This Evening of Jazz was the ninth one to be held and was superbly done; getting a ticket was quick and simple, finding a seat was as easy, and leaving was not hard. The whole performance was led by Doctor Steven Lee Bingham who also played with all the bands on the alto saxophone along with giving information about each band, song, scholarship players, and on Mr. Wilson and his unique instrument called a E.V.I.. The audience had a pleasant feel, everyone was talking and laughing before and after the performance, they also were

The stage was set up with five saxophones, two altos, two tenors, and one baritone, stage front left with four trombones directly behind them, and three trumpets at the back, the electric guitar was in center stage with drums and bass located behind, the piano was stage right with Professor Scott Wilson, the guest artist, in front of the piano. The songs the Big Band played were fantastically preformed balanced with no parts sounding to loud or soft, the trumpets were the major surprise there, but the highlight was Professor Scott Wilson E.V.I., or Electronic Valve Instrument. The E.V.I. sounded like a trumpet and an electric piano in one instrument, the notes were controlled by three buttons imitating valves on brass instrument and a knob at the bottom to control the pitch of the note, a unique instrument for Jazz. Over all, the Evening of Jazz was good example of Blues and Jazz music genre, from the clothes to the style of songs chosen, without the clothes the Blues would not have felt Blues. The E.V.I., from the Big Band, was an unique instrument with a strangely pleasant sound for Jazz much like the Vibraphone, from the Jazz Combo, and this brought a different feel yet was able to keep the authentic tone to the genre by adding a