UCLA Jazz Combo Concert combines legends, lessons

Not many students of jazz have the rare chance to study under legends of the genre, but at UCLA they do.

The UCLA jazz studies program within the department of ethnomusicology will be serving its own helping of jazz tonight with a concert featuring UCLA student jazz combos. The combos, which are each mostly composed of small, tightly knit groups of undergraduate ethnomusicology students, will be directed by prominent figures in jazz such as Kenny Burrell, a popular jazz guitarist and professor who is now director of jazz studies at UCLA, and George Bohanon, an award-winning jazz trombonist.

The combos will play a wide variety of jazz pieces, ranging from famous classics to student-composed originals. But the concert is not just a chance for the audience to listen to a large selection of jazz music.

According to Michele Weir, adjunct associate professor and director of one of the vocal jazz combos, the event is also an opportunity for her jazz students to show their technical expertise.

“This is the smallest class we’ve had in quite a few years, which is turning out to be a nice thing, since singers are doing two songs instead of just one,” Weir said.

Weir said she believes that this departure from the usual size of the group will help her students show their potential in jazz. While the added work load is a lot to handle, she said she knows that they are fully capable of taking on the task.

“I think we have some extremely talented singers this year,” Weir said.

Nina Kasuya, a third-year ethnomusicology student with a concentration in world music who is part of Weir’s jazz combo, said she sees the concert not just as a mere show of skill, but also as a personal challenge in her career as a singer.

Though she has extensive experience in a multitude of vocal styles, she said she has yet to master the art of jazz singing.

“Jazz is not my strongest style to sing, but it’s something I really enjoy,” Kasuya said. “The most difficult part for me is singing the emotion, and not just the lyric. I think it’s very easy to just sing words, but in jazz, it’s completely about the emotions in the lyrics.”

She said she hopes that experiences such as the UCLA Jazz Combo Concert, as well as her continued training under Weir’s watchful eye, will give her the practice she needs to become a truly great jazz singer.

For Kiefer Shackelford, a second-year ethnomusicology student with a concentration in jazz studies playing in one of the combos, the concert is just another chance for him to have fun.

Over the years, he said he has created very strong bonds with the other musicians in his combo. He also said performing in a concert is just the same as playing together with his friends.

“The experience of jazz itself is always something to look forward to for me. I think it’s something that anyone would enjoy because it’s all about interaction by the second. You’re improvising constantly, so everyone has to listen to each other. It’s very fun,” Shackelford said.