Jazz Ensemble prepares for spring extravaganza

Pitt Jazz Ensemble’s Spring Concert

Today at 8… Pitt Jazz Ensemble’s Spring Concert

Today at 8 p.m.

William Pitt Union Ballroom

Student Tickets $5

For students in Pitt’s Jazz Ensemble, the annual spring concert is “the big one.”

Tonight’s show is the only performance in which all members of the group participate, because many of them are involved in organizing other events. The big band, as it’s called when all musicians are involved, consists of about 25 Pitt students with remarkably eclectic interests.

“We have a lot of non-music majors in the ensemble. I think that makes it better because it’s like we’re doing it for fun instead of credit,” said trombonist Brandon Hang, a junior chemistry and molecular biology major.

Leon Dorsey, director of the ensemble and an experienced jazz musician, said a typical “big band” has about 17 members. He said that one of the reasons this show has more musicians is to give as many people as possible an opportunity to play.

The Pitt Jazz Ensemble has been exclusively preparing for this show — which will encompass just about every sub-genre of jazz, from funk to more contemporary and modern sounds — since the start of the semester. The concert will also feature a guest appearance by jazz guitarist Larry Coryell, who will play alongside the ensemble and also perform his own individual selections.

Dorsey described Coryell’s style as that of a “chameleon.” The guitarist’s musical talents extend to every form of jazz, from classical to contemporary and fusion, he said.

Naturally, putting on a show of this size presents its challenges. Sophomore Cameron Marburger, who plays bass in the band, said the hardest part of preparing for the event has been coordinating all the different elements.

“We’re all used to playing in our own smaller pieces. At first when we all had to play together it was hard to make it sound like one unit,” Marburger said.

As a product of Pitt’s music department, the spring concert attempts to serve as an educational event, as well as an affirmation of the genre’s continued relevance. Dorsey believes that jazz remains an important art form across the world.

“Maybe not so much here in the States, but around the world, jazz is still a very popular and widely listened-to genre,” he said.

Even if Americans don’t recognize it, he said, other countries appreciate the nation’s contribution to the art.

“Even though you don’t see it a lot here, jazz is revered around the world as an integral part of American history — especially through the ’60s,” Dorsey said.

The ensemble will also perform for area public schools throughout the spring.