NYC Jazz Trip

Yesterday’s free Jazz performance was done by a group called the Gotham Jazzmen. They performed at the Lincoln Center, specifically in the Bruno Walter auditorium. The specific style in which they played was traditional Jazz. There were 6 musicians in the group and each played either the piano, the upright bass, the clarinet, the cornet, the trombone, or the drums. What was unusual about the drummer’s setup was that he had no bass drum and that he played them with brushes the majority of the time rather than drumsticks. Each song had a similar format. There would be a period in which all the instruments played (usually at the beginning and end) and then there would also be a time in which 3 or 4 instruments played a solo. The drummer did not solo every song, only a few. He did solo longer than most instruments and he was given the “spotlight” whenever he did so. Sometimes the singer would make his voice a bit more gravely to match the voice of Louis Armstrong. My favorite song was Sunday because it was easier to understand. The concert ended with one of the staff signaling the group to “cut it”. The last song they played was When the Saints Go Marching In. My overall reaction to the music was actually very different than I expected. I thought it was going to be something boring but I was actually interesting.