When I saw that the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra was going to be in town, I jumped at the opportunity to cover it. As one of my musical inspirations, I was beyond excited to get more familiar with one of my idols. It was with this spirit that I found myself at the Union Theater Saturday night.
The VJO was phenomenal; the opening act of the UW Jazz Orchestra, however, was less than spectacular.
I had pretty high expectations for the opener; my own high school jazz band was sub-par at best, so I was hopeful that a college jazz band wouldn't bring back any bad memories.
Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.
This will sound really pretentious (and it probably is), but I was not impressed by the solos. A good improvisational solo will work off the groove that the band creates. A few of them seemed to think, "I have this riff I'm going to play, and nothing's going to stop me." The soloist and the band were on two different pages, and it made many audience members noticeably uncomfortable.
Which is really too bad, because the rest of the band was setting up some pretty solid grooves. It was sad to see such opportunity go to waste. A few soloists didn't seem to notice the key or style; they just threw some notes out.
In addition, I felt that the director spent too much time talking and not enough time conducting. Due to my extensive background in jazz music, I would like to think that I appreciate and enjoy the director talking about the band more than the next guy. However, it got to a point where I'm pretty sure he talked as much as the band played.
After an intermission of watching people being confounded by a bubbler with abnormally high water pressure, I was ready for a band that wouldn't stumble through its solos like a hapless nerd on a first date.
My desire was met with a flourish; I've seen a lot of good jazz playing in my day, but the VJO played some of the cleanest and most cohesive jazz I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. And that's not because their songs were easy; the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra performs some of the most famously difficult charts in big band history.
One of the things that I enjoyed about the VJO was the fact that they talked to each other during songs. Ordinarily, that comes off as disrespectful. However, in a context where camaraderie is so important to the overall structure of the band, I think that it showed that the band could really work together.
Also, when you play an 18-minute "St. Louis Blues," it's near impossible to sit at attention the entire time.
John Mosca, the director and voice of the band, took on a different role than most big band leaders. He spent the performance playing in the trombone section, rather than at the front of the band.
I liked this approach. It made the performance seem like a true group effort, rather than the brainchild of the director.
Overall, I feel that it was an educational experience for me as a musician, as well as a legitimately enjoyable time for me as a person. The VJO perfectly blends the old "big band" sound with the advances in musical innovation made since its heyday.
