The Monterey Jazz Festival Band’s Concert: Contemporary Jazz Performance
The Monterey Jazz Festival band’s concert is a stunning example of contemporary jazz performance. Filmed as a tribute to the festival on its 60th anniversary, the performance showcases high instrumental skills and international musical talents, and the desire to improve the recognizable style of the ensemble. The concert was filmed during the band’s US tour in 2019. The first composition performed by the ensemble – a vocal jazz track called “Fog,” which tells about the connection between words and music – is subjected to careful analysis. The band’s sound can be described as distinctly urban – the style of jazz they perform evokes inevitable associations with the exciting nightlife of a dynamic metropolis.
One of the first musical qualities that attract the listener’s attention is the combination of high technical skill and quiet and insinuating performative dynamics. Performers do not merely seek to amaze the listener with their technique or stun them with virtuosity since a jazz group represents a more intimate listening experience. The incredible speed of the saxophone and trumpet playing, made even more amazing by the synchronization of several virtuoso fast arpeggios, is subdued in volume and intensity but still captivates attention. Even more stunning are the solo performances of each of the brass instruments. The knowledge of counterpoint and the presence of syncopation between solo instruments enhances the effect not only of the repetition of the melody but also of the sudden additional harmonization between the melodies. Each of the instruments in this band does not seek to draw attention to itself – rather, they strive to create an overall smooth listening experience. The softness of the sound is emphasized by glissandos performed on the double bass – smooth transitions between notes make the sound more floating.
Periodically, the group enhances the listener’s impression by raising the intensity of the performance. These moments seem to make sense conceptually; for example, in the first track, this dynamic amplification occurs closer to the coda and is the climax of the composition. Jazz demonstrates itself as highly stimulating music – at these moments, there are too many melodies, and in comparison with the calm and smooth main texture of the track, the music is all the more staggering.
It should be noted that the compositions performed range from vocal to fully instrumental. This diversity underlines the range of possibilities that this group demonstrates and shows the endless eclecticism of jazz music. By shifting the emphasis from one type of instrument to another, the group shows not only the technical qualities of the performers but also the special capabilities of each of the instruments in the appropriate musical setting. Piano solos, interacting with increasingly spastic percussion sections, amaze the listener with the ability to maintain musical balance with the ever-increasing technical complexity and abstractness of music. Periodically, the group allows themselves random and chaotic elements when there are too many breakdowns and abrupt transitions. However, the group’s task is not to intensify a dense atmosphere oversaturated with notes, as the musicians show the ability to handle the generated chaos and bring it back into harmony.
The vocal prowess is secondary to the instrumental for the Monterey Jazz Festival band but is definitely worthy of attention. The vocal parts of the performer of the first track evoke associations with soloing on the instrument. The image of the fog hanging over the city prevailing in the text of the track is synchronized with the smoky atmosphere of the jazz combo sound, which is emphasized by the added triads of chords. The melodies are complexly structured, but at the same time, they are likened to the naturalness of live speech. These unusual melodic patterns intertwine with other instruments, presenting an even more open and self-supporting musical structure.
In conclusion, one cannot but suppose that this organic freedom expresses the peculiarity of the jazz music performed at the concert and jazz in general. Despite the technical complexity, it expresses the depth and ornateness of human consciousness in all its beauty and spontaneity. Possibly, seeing this concert live would have even reinforced this natural feeling of a busy yet poetic conversation between instruments and melodies.
References
Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour. “Fog”. Web.