By Chloe Frantzis
Managing Editor of Arts
On Wednesday, most of Newton South was having a rough post-election day, and couldn’t wait to just get home from school and sleep. But for the past several months, jazz and band students have been prepared vigorously for the first concert of the year, which was set for that night.
Although the atmosphere is school was a bit depressing, each and every performer drew the energy and passion needed from inside themselves to create one of the best instrumental concerts South has ever seen.
Opening the show was one out of six jazz groups at South. As each subsequent group took the stage, the age and skill level increased. First came Improv 1-2, and then another Improv 1-2 group. Both sections contain freshmen, this being their first South concert ever. It takes a lot of courage to improvise on the spot at your first show, but the group showed an impressive amount of brass. The first group performed “Sonnymoon for Two” by Sonny Rollins and “Short Stuff” by Cedar Walton, while the second played “Blue Seven” by Sonny Rollins and “Bags’ Groove” by Miles Davis.
Next came the Newton South Improv 2-3, which performed the two pieces, “Blue Bossa” by Kenny Dorham and “Equinox” by Johnny Coltrane. In the first upbeat song, there was some great solos by junior Philip Kang on piano and sophomore Tomer Bronshtein on alto saxophone. The second piece had a much slower tempo, and had a somewhat Caribbean vibe. The song had a spectacular and intricate opening performed by junior Sophie Krop on guitar.
Next to perform was Lab Jazz, which performed three pieces: “Lil Darlin” by Neal Hefti, “Derk’s Works” by Bob Washut, and “Moanin’” by Bobby Timmons. This group is different from the previous ensembles– instead of purely improvising, they had some sheet music and structure to follow along with. This setup, however, doesn’t prohibit amazing solos and improvs.
Jazz Ensemble, the highest level jazz group in the school, performed another three songs by some famous musicians, including Duke Ellington (“Feet Bone”). They also performed “Katy Do” by Benny Carter, which featured some upbeat and complicated solos, especially one by junior Caleb Freid. The last piece this group performed, “Better Get Hit in Your Soul” by Charles Mingus, was extremely entertaining and exciting. It featured not only some amazing trumpet solos by juniors Thomas Blum, Caleb Fried, and Jacob Wellborn, but the song also had a phenomenal tenor saxophone dual between senior Inaki Uribe and sophomore Daniel Dubinski– one of the highlights of the night.
The last jazz group to perform was Newton South’s Jazz Combo, which practices outside school hours and is directed by Ed Harlow. They performed a whopping four pieces, each one more lively an engaging than the next (“Zigaboogaloo” by Nicholas Payton, “Take Ten” by Paul Desmond, “Walkin’ Shoes” by Gerry Mulligan, and lastly “Simone” by Frank Foster). Although we were sad to see the end of the jazz groups for the night, the musicians to follow would not disappoint.
After the short intermission, South’s Wind Ensemble took the stage, performing two short movements of “Lincolnshire Posy”, an intriguing arrangement of folk music by Percy Grainger entitled “Horkstow Grange (A Miser and his Man: A Local Tragedy)” and “Lisbon (Sailor’s Song)”. The Wind Ensemble is an outside school group as well, consisting of students from Symphonic Band.
Symphonic Band was the last group to perform of the night, and by far the biggest with close to 80 students. They began with a percussion-heavy piece featured many pots and pans, called “Foundry”, by John Mackey. Next, the group moved to a much slower piece song also by Grainger, called “Ye Banks and Braes O’Bonnie Doon”. To close the concert and the night, Symphonic Band performed a legendary piece, “The First Suite in Eb for Military Band” by Gustav Holst. This is such a beautiful and essential piece, that band director, Lisa Linde, performs it every four years to make sure all her students can experience its magic.
Overall, not only was the concert extremely successful, but it was also very memorable. Linde, who has been teaching at South for more than a decade, admitted the next day that this was a concert that she will never forget because of how it lifted everyone’s spirits and reminded us all that there is still beauty and happiness in this country.
