MOUNT VERNON -- The Cornell Jazz Combo and Cornell Jazz Ensemble will perform Wednesday, May 5, at 8 p.m. in Ringer Recital Studio of Armstrong Hall. Admission is free.
The Cornell Jazz Combo will perform a program including the jazz standards "Pennies from Heaven" and "Take Five," plus a new blues called "Awesome Sauce" composed and arranged expressly for the combo by director Don Chamberlain. "Take Five" was written by alto saxophonist Paul Desmond and became one of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's best-known numbers. "Little Sunflower" (written by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard) and "Dealer Takes Four" (recorded by T.S. Monk in 1994) round out the combo's concert.
The Cornell Jazz Ensemble will present a sendoff performance prior to its trip to New Orleans and Kansas City, which is part of a class exploring the origins and major performers of two important styles of early jazz. In keeping with the theme of the trip, the band will play a swinging rendition of "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" arranged by Les Hooper. Other pieces are inspired by the big bands of the Kansas City jazz scene, especially the Count Basie and Benny Moten bands, including "The Red Bank Express" (Basie was born in Red Bank, N.J.) and the Basie favorite "Li'l Darlin'" composed by Neal Hefti.
Since many of the Kansas City bands were "riff" bands, the Jazz Ensemble will perform two "head charts" - arrangements created during the performance - based on the tunes "Moten Swing" and the Jazz Ensembles' original blues called "A Cold One." Members of the band learn the melody and chord changes for a tune and then play a variety of riffs and solos to create the arrangement.
