By: Megan Callahan, Spectator Staff Writer

When people think of Jazz, they usually think of stimulating music to help people focus on studies, dinner music, or simply just elevator music.  

However, on Nov. 12 in the Whitehead Theatre our very own VSU Jazz band reminded people that this particular genre of music can be exciting and riveting to watch. 

Jazz directors such as Paul Morelli have been working on these songs all semester long. They have chosen songs from a variety of eras of jazz music. “We’ve got a lot of excellent players in all these combos. The combo I’m leading is the youngest one, and they’re some outstanding players, and   really fast learners,” he said.  

Each combo consisted of four songs: “Caravan,” “Russell’s Teapot,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” and “The Chicken.” 

The first song, “Caravan,” was a very strong song to kick off the concert. “Caravan” incorporated VSU’s guest artist, Barry Greene into the song very nicely. Not so much that he overpowered the other players, but just enough that his guitar solo was very impressive to both the players and the audience. 

Throughout the concert, the audience could tell that there were several band members amongst them. After each song there was a sense of comradery that the audience experienced. 

Some of the songs at the concert were very exciting and entertaining to watch. For instance, “I Get a Kick Outa You” at first was a very smooth song, but it started to build as the song went on.  

The last song of Combo C’s setlist was, “The Chicken.” It was very catchy and upbeat, which showcased the students very well. Barry Greene also came back to close out the set with this particular group of students. Towards the end of the song, they did a great job seg-waying out of Braeden Drywa’s bass solo and into the final verse of the song. 

 Some songs were somewhat dull like the song “The Days of Wine and Roses” in Combo B. Throughout the song it was very difficult not to fall asleep.    

 There were a few students that wrote original songs that they got to play at the concert. For instance, Seth Lee, the tenor saxophone player, wrote a song called “My Little Penny, “ to start Jazz Combo A off. 

Original songs are actually very normal for jazz players. With every note they play they can play a variation of the music. 

During the last couple of songs of the concert, Barry Greene shared a song called “Cold Train Plays the Blues” from his new album. The piece was very beautiful, simple, yet peaceful at the same time. 

Before Greene played his new song, he took a moment to thank the directors for including him and said, “The VSU players are truly astounding.” The final song was called “Swingin at the Haven,” by Ellis Marsalis. It was a very powerful piece, and it showed off each player very well. 

The last song got roaring applause from the audience which consisted of multiple band family members. 

After the concert, Drywa addressed the performance. “II think everything from the production to the performance, to the music to the groups, everything was done so well to a T., “I can’t really think of any way that it could have gone any better.” Braeden Drywa, bass player,” Tuba performance major 

This concert was a variety of things, exciting, powerful, but slower at times. Maybe if the songs were a bit more exciting, it would have been even more of an entertaining event.