Faculty ensemble swings
espite the small audience on Aug. 27 in the McKinney Theater at Saddleback College, the stage was full of energy and good jazz music created by the faculty.
The band consisted of Jamie Rosenn on guitar, Gerard Hagen on piano, Paul Johnson on drums, and Luther Hughes on bass, and who could forget the three gentlemen on the horns and their good pair of lungs? They were Ron Stout on trumpet, Jerry Pinter on tenor sax, and Joey Sellers on trombone.
Each had unique character and talent to go along with their sensational sounding instruments.
A majority of the songs were composed and arranged by the faculty with the exception of one.
The song “Pancake Sauce” was written by Craig Cammell, 19, music jazz studies. He wrote the song at the beginning of the previous week to the concert in about three hours.
“The jazz program and teachers themselves are great, especially Joey and Jerry. I have learned more with those guys than with anyone else,” Cammell said.
Luther Hughes is a 60 year old who has been playing for 43 years since he was 17.
“Jazz appreciation class with Joey Sellers is a great class to take if you are curious about jazz,” said Hughes. He’s a very loose guy. It will be a fun class.”
Among the cheerful audience, one could not help but hear the comments of two students as they walked out of the theater. “It was exilirating and awesome; it was like a 60’s car show. It’s like an old car: it has power. It’s not cheap; it’s made in America. They know what they’re doing,” said an anonymous audience member.
The jazz studies focuses on the historical, theoretical and intuitive aspects of the American music. If you’re interested in seeing what all the commotion is about, the faculty jazz band will be performing for the rest of the year.
The band will feature performances by Satoko Fujii and Natsuky Tamara from Japan, Roberta Piket from New York, as well as others.