UI Jazz Band III vs. Ravi Shankar
...mushrooms to have a more enjoyable experience at a concert. But not a single alteration to my consciousness was made. I felt a high that had never hit me before. It was the music alone that did it for me. And maybe the Peaceful aura that extended from Mr. Shankar and permeated throughout the entire audience linking one to another in this strange peace. This was very different from the Jazz Concert that I attended. Musically Mr. Shankar was a step above the rest. The song I will be analyzing did not have a name. None of Mr. Shankar’s songs had names the program just said he would be announcing them on stage. Their was never any names announced. This song started in an up tempo manner and started with a melody that reminded me of a snake dancing. This melody was touched upon again and again with different variations. This melody became the theme of the piece. The whole piece played was the main line played by Ravi Shankar with the tabla player keeping time and the bass drones keeping harmony and rhythm. Each line played by Mr. Shankar seemed so complex. The change in tempo throughout the piece gave for very big dynamic changes. One second the tabla player would be quick and loud. Mr. Shankar would play off of that and be quick and loud. Then they would keep building with three to five minute crescendos from pianissimo to fortissimo. It can be compared to a Phish or String Cheese Incident show when the band keeps coming back to the same melody, but each time the journey to get their has been different and more complex. The solo’s and changes happen throughout, but the same melody is always brought back before the end making the song more of a composition then a short poppy song. At one point during the song everyone got quiet, except the tablet player went on a five-minute solo. I have seen tabla players before at Umphrey’s Mcgee and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, but this man was on another level then what I had seen before. Not just his solo, but Shankar would play a line then the tabla player would play the same line back. If Shankar would play a staccato note then the tabla player would imitate that, and if Shankar would play Legato notes the tabla player would still be able to imitate that. Now all this can be compared to a Jazz group, a big band Jazz group to be exact. Now this was a quite different setting then the Ravi Shankar show. For one I went alone after work. Since I was alone and was going to a jazz show I decided that it would be best to smoke. So before the show I ripped a few hitters. Now I have been to probably 100+ jazz shows. So I know a basic deal about jazz or at least what is expected at a jazz show. Modern day music has overlapped jazz and rock. With bands like Bela Fleck and the Flecktones bringing diverse groups to the show. Having anywhere from old men catching another jazz show to young hippies dancing the night away at a jazz show. The setup for the jazz band was the top row trumpets, middle row trombones, front row woodwinds, and the rhythm section to the bands right (Piano, guitar, and bass). They all had music on stands. The audience was more diverse then the Ravi Shankar show, but was only half full. You could hear the band warming up behind the curtains to the side, which reminded me a lot of my High School Jazz Band I was in. It brought sadness to my heart as I reminisced about performing. When the band came out they were all dressed in black, but not matching. Everyone clapped for the band. Then the director, but no one clapped for the director. This was odd to me, because almost every other show I’ve been to there has been clapping for the director. This made me think that the crowd was showing disrespect to the director. This also occurred during some of the solos. I would be the only person clapping following a solo. It seemed that many of the people had not seen a jazz show and didn’t know how to respect the performers. The biggest difference seen between the Ravi Shankar performance and the Jazz band was the level of performance. Shankar was on a level that I may never see again. He brought a feel to me that have never been felt before. Everything that was done was to absolute perfection. Then the Jazz band was more childish. There were mistakes here and there and the audience was not up to par with respect. Solos were not as strong. The Shankar performance was like Babe Ruth and the Jazz Band performance was like Kyle Farnsworth without the potential. One was entertaining and one was a religious experience. The actual performances that the jazz band played were “Got the Basie Feelin’” by Neil Finn and “After Mr. Teng” by Toshiko Akiyoshi. “Got the Basie Feelin’” was the last song they played of the first set. It started out strong with Fortissimo. There was a strong presence felt by the horns. The song said strong and loud for about 45 seconds then had a pause followed by a calmer, pianissimo piano solo. Then the band picked tempo back up and there was a trumpet solo that started out with the Simpson’s theme. This was probably the highlight of the entire night. Then there was a very nice tenor sax solo, except whenever ...