Jazz Ensemble blows away Pitt audience

A wall of trumpets, saxophones, trombones, guitars, drums and upright and electric basses… A wall of trumpets, saxophones, trombones, guitars, drums and upright and electric basses bombarded the packed crowd in the William Pitt Union auditorium last week. The annual Pitt Jazz Ensemble concert drew a full house, with students, staff and other jazz fans filling every seat and available spot on the floor, and lining the back and side walls.

“We’re gonna make you feel good. In fact, I guarantee it,” Director Nathan Davis assured the audience at the onset of the show. He announced the ensemble’s upcoming trip to Jamaica at the end of the month and quipped, “Next time you see the dean, ask him to give us some bread,” for the band’s various expeditions.

The ensemble then launched into a bombastic wall of upbeat, horn-driven jazz. Dueling saxophone solos were interspersed between full-band blasts of music and solos by other instrumentalists. The opening number, like many of the others, ended with a loud crescendo, cut off by Davis’ signal and the initiation of applause from the audience.

The second song, a Mike Mossman arrangement of a piece by the famous trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, was mellower, with greater emphasis on woodblock beats. The number included more saxophone solos, with waves of competing horn melodies. Frequent piano, bass, trumpet, and saxophone solos characterized subsequent numbers, including John Coltrane’s “Blue Train” and Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee.”

Between songs, Davis paused to speak to the audience, relating past events and future plans for the ensemble. In his 34th year as the jazz director at Pitt, Davis said that he has “enjoyed every minute of it.”

The two vocalists of the Pitt Jazz Ensemble emerged for a rendition of Nat King Cole’s “Almost Like Being in Love,” and a solo vocalist sang the ballad “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Your Face.” Her low, alto voice breathed over legato notes held by the brass and woodwinds. A bridge section morphed the song into a fast-paced jazz frenzy before the vocals reentered.

Some of the final numbers featured professional guest musicians Anthony Hart and Mike Mossman on the saxophone and trumpet, respectively. They created swiftly moving solos from the right-hand side of the stage, in front of Pitt’s musicians.