Jazz ensembles perform at the Buskirk

The sounds of jazz filled the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Monday night as the Jacobs School of Music Jazz Combo and Latin Jazz Ensemble took the stage.

The six-member Jazz Combo, under the direction of Dave Stryker, performed first.

Their selections included “I Thought About You” by Jimmy Van Heusen and “Fantasy in D” by Cedar Walton.

The ensemble also played two original compositions by its own members — “Hmm” by drummer Josh Roberts and “I Haven’t Met Her” by guitarist Matt MacDougall, who was unable to perform due to an injury.

Tenor saxophonist Matthew Babineaux, a freshman, said this is the group’s fifth performance this semester.

“I like the activity, the unity, and how that comes through the instruments,” Babineaux said.

Afterwards, the 27-member Latin Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Michael Spiro and Wayne Wallace, took the stage.

Spiro began the show by leading the audience in clapping the beat to the first selection, “Mis Amigos” by Wallace.

Spiro snapped his fingers and danced along as he conducted the piece.

Spiro, who has directed the band for six years, said the ensemble has prepared for this performance since the beginning of the semester.

“This band has developed a reputation for a band that plays hard, swinging groove music from Latin America that you can dance to,” he said. “It’s not just ‘here’s some music.’ They will be entertained.”

Spiro said he enjoyed seeing the band’s commitment to getting the music right and coming together as an ensemble rather than as individuals.

“We put our heart and soul into the performance,” he said.

Throughout the show, members of the trombone and trumpet sections swayed to the music, and multiple members in the audience tapped their feet and bobbed their heads to the beat.

The band played various Latin American jazz styles, including a cha-cha in Tito Puente’s “El Cayuco” and a New York salsa style in Raul Marrero’s “La Hija de Lola.”
Music student Yuriria Rodriguez provided the vocals to those pieces.

Next, the ensemble performed “Prelude to a Kiss” by Duke Ellington with
arrangement by Wallace.

“He’s a really incredible writer and arranger,” senior band member and percussionist Mitch Shiner said.

Wallace is in his first year co-directing this ensemble.

He said he previously directed groups throughout California, including his native city of San Francisco.
 
He said he enjoys teaching at IU.

“I’m loving Indiana, Bloomington, the people and the school,” he said. “Coming from the Bay Area to here has been a natural fit. It’s not the same, but there’s a very cool aura about this area. The way it supports the arts is wonderful.”

Wallace said he had no expectations going into the performance, but said he hoped the nuance of the music was something people could enjoy.

“It comes out the way it comes out,” he said. “I would hope that all the work that we’ve done in rehearsal is heard by people.”

The performance finished with Wallace’s “Art of the Dance,” a mixture of Cuban, funk and Trinidadian soul music.

Shiner, who plays the congas, vibraphone and timbales, said he loves how the percussion combines with the big band sound.

“The band just brings high energy wherever we go,” he said. “We exude energy and breathe life into every musical performance.”

Follow reporter Alyssa Schor on Twitter @SchorAlyssa.