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UCLA Jazz Combo Concert to showcase passion of Kenny Burrell through professors, students

Ethnomusicology Professor Kenny Burrell sits with fourth-year jazz studies student Julian Le at a rehearsal for the UCLA Jazz Combo Concert tonight in Schoenberg Hall.

UCLA Jazz Combo Concert
Monday, Nov. 21 7-9 p.m.
Schoenberg Hall

By Jenna Maffucci

Nov. 21, 2011 12:33 a.m.

After seeing a performance last weekend in tribute of Kenny Burrell and his musical accomplishments, some UCLA student musicians were inspired to emulate the same passion in tonight’s Jazz Combo Concert.

“This is the students’ chance to imitate the musical genius we just witnessed at Royce Hall last weekend. It’s … been a banner year for ethnomusicology, and we get to practice portraying this in a smaller local event,” said Andy Martinez, a graduate student in world arts and cultures.

The concert will include seven combos playing jazz standards and student compositions. Six directors conduct the combos, which will include vocal, instrumental and jazz-fusion classifications.

“The concert shows different jazz styles from essentially different eras. We’re lucky this year. We have perhaps the most talented group we’ve ever had in one class’s concentration,” said Michele Weir, an ethnomusicology professor who will direct a combo.

The combos vary from each other in terms of musical focus and arrangements, centering around different instruments, such as the trumpet, trombone, drums, piano or vocals.

George Bohanon, an adjunct assistant ethnomusicology professor, is directing a combo which he says serves as an example of this stylistic experimentation.

“We try to do a variety of music. We like to pull from old standards, from the Bebop Era to “˜Oleo,’ but then we’ll do something new like “˜Strasbourg/St. Denis.’ We always try to incorporate the old and the new,” Bohanon said.

The juxtaposition of style requires close collaboration between student vocalists, instrumentalists and professors.

Weir’s combo will showcase vocalists accompanied by jazz rhythm sections. Each performer will sing one individual jazz standard tune. Some will sing up-tempo songs, while others will opt for smoother and slower standards. Weir said she coaches student musicians not only on musicality but on presentation as well.

“I get to work with singers who are so talented and motivated with their work. They’re really aspiring to be their best and that makes for some beautiful musical moments in class,” Weir said.

During class and practice time, tempos and melodies are split or tinkered with until the song becomes an original version of the collaborating students and directors.

“My favorite thing is when we come in with a song and don’t have a real clear direction; I love to see how we can sit down and incorporate our own flair until it’s an arrangement as opposed to just a song,” Bohanon said.

Each combo presents a different variation of jazz style. In Weir’s combo, Martinez will sing “Nature Boy,” a jazz tune that picks up speed.

According to Martinez, he looks forward to the performance-friendly atmosphere of the concert.

“It’s exciting to have the professional elements: lights and audience and the experience of collective sharing,” Martinez said.

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