MOUNT VERNON — The Cornell Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo will perform on Wednesday, April 24, at 8 p.m. in King Chapel. Admission is free. Both ensembles are directed by Don Chamberlain, associate professor of music.
The Jazz Combo’s program focuses on hard bop, or funky jazz, which came into vogue around 1954 and represented what many jazz players felt was a return to the roots of their music. Players borrowed liberally from the blues and the African-American church music of the day. The style features a greater emphasis on rhythm, less complex harmonies and frequent use of blue notes. The combo will play five selections: “Silver’s Serenade” by Horace Silver, “Alter Ego” and “What Do You Say Dr. J” by James Williams (pianist with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers), “Impressions” by John Coltrane and an arrangement of Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies.”
The Jazz Ensemble will play a more varied set, though it will perform “Doxy,” a hard bop classic by tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollings. Other pieces on the program are “The Chicken,” a funk tune that begins with a gospel-influenced introduction, arranged by Kris Berg based on the well-known recording of the tune by Jaco Pastorius; a soulful arrangement of Duke Ellington’s “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me” and Dexter Gordon’s “Cheesecake,” featuring the tenor saxes.