Jazz Love

So, in orchestra we have been working on the "pops" bit of the semester and this year Dr. Dissmore said that our program would be entitled: "Jazz Meets the Orchestra". Humph, I thought, this will be interesting. I mean, I know what jazz is. It's funky music played by weirdos that has no real rhyme or rhythm. And Mom and Chrissy like it; enough said. Or so I thought.

We get about two weeks into rehearsals, and I discover that I really had no idea whatsoever about jazz. It's really fun stuff! I feel all warm and happy inside, and I want to tap my feet. And there are some moments when I even want to twirl around in a swirly skirt under the moon! Jazz music slides and sways; some bits are very lush and smooth (think fudge or pearls), while others tickle your toes so much you have to stand up and move!

There is a set rhythm, only it never sounds that way because when you play jazz music you smoosh it and pull it and stretch it and squeeze it and shake it, so that it doesn't really sound to have rhythm at all. One of the directors, Mrs. Whouton, said there was a whole new language that jazz people  used when referring to the rhythm. Apparently it consists of "doos" and "dats" and "dits" (there was one more but I forgot it).

Speaking of jazz people, we have a jazz trio, the Jacob Hiser Trio, coming to play a few pieces with us. They are an electric bass (oh so cool! I want one), some drums, and a piano. They sound really neat, and it's fun to see "real" (jazz trio verus classical orchestra attempting to play jazz) jazz played. My seat is the perfect spot for watching the drums and the bass during our 23-measure rests. I found out that the "shushing" noise is made by brushing the drums! The drummer takes two brushes that look like paint brushes with a twisted wire loop at the end, and sweeps them across the drum, smooshing the bristles down really far. And sometimes he turns them over and swipes the wire loop across a cymbal, which makes a smooth, bright noise.

Anywho, we are having our concert in approximately 4 days, and I was never so excited about an orchestra concert before! Which I suppose isn't saying much, considering that I've only had one other. But I definitely am going to have tons of fun.

So I guess the moral of this post is, never ever condemn anything until you've found out what it really is. Not to say that you couldn't condemn Chinese chicken foot soup, but that's beside the point. One never knows what something that appears weird might turn out to be. You might find a new love! (Except chicken foot soup, that's pretty self-explanatory)