VCU’s Jazz Orchestra I and II and jazz faculty will perform at the Fall Jazz Festival, alongside guest artist Matt Niess Thursday at 8 p.m.
Brendan Schnabel and Connor Thompson, members of Jazz Orchestra I, said they were looking forward to playing Frank Foster’s “Shiny Stockings.” Director of Jazz Orchestra I, Antonio Garcia said “Shiny Stockings” is an iconic piece that rings a bell with students. He said the piece involved a lot of concentration and team work. Schnabel enjoyed the shout section of the piece or the climax of the song.
“It’s one of those real classic, big band sounds,” Schnabel said. “If you pull off (the shout section) it gets the audience really into (the song).”
Guest trombonist Matt Niess will hold workshops that are open to the public that same day. Garcia said guest artists made it possible for students to learn to be flexible and work with different musicians since it is something they will need to do in the real world.
Schnabel said one of the challenges the jazz orchestra faced was trying to have a cohesive interpretation of the songs rather than different visions.
“I’ve learned a lot about how to kind of fit into the big group sound,” Schnabel said. “There are certain things in the kind of music we play where everyone has to pull it off to make it sound like a professional band.”
Thompson said he had to learn Freddie Green style, which he will play throughout the show. He also said the particular guitar style ended up being more subtle than he initially thought. Freddie Green was a Count Basie Orchestra guitarist who was famous for simple, quarter-note “chunking.”
“(Freddie Green style) wasn’t something I could pick up right away,” Thompson said. “I had to kind of re-evaluate how I was approaching it.”
Garcia said one of the approaches the department used was playing the classical recordings of pieces for the jazz orchestra students so they understood the traditions associated with it.
“(The pieces) are not something you hear on most radio stations,” Garcia said. “You have to hear it. As I’m fond of saying ‘You can’t draw a tree until you’ve seen one.’ ”
Thompson said the jazz orchestras try to incorporate their own spin on the songs they play.
“Even when we do the famous pieces, we do them a little bit differently than the famous recording,” Thompson said. “It’s always a little bit of something you have never heard before. That’s what makes the music exciting, that’s what jazz is all about.”
Fall Jazz Fest: at the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall
Thursday 10/8
Matt Niess Improvisation Clinic: 3:30 p.m. Free.
Matt Niess Clinic: 5:30 p.m. Free.
Fall Jazz Fest: Soloist Matt Niess, lead trombone US Army Jazz Band. 8 p.m. $5, free for VCU students I.D.