Jazz Ensemble livens up IVC Saturday nights
by Ashley Reyes
Saturday night, Oct. 6, at Irvine Valley College was a night of tapping toes and snapping fingers, due to the Jazz Ensemble’s performance.
Founded in 1999, the Jazz Ensemble is a traditional, 17-piece big band performing all genres of big band literature.
The ensemble started of with Cole Porter’s, “Easy to Love” and then followed by “Lost in The Shuffle,” by Les Hooper.
An enthusiastic crowd applauded after every performance and every solo.
It was a night for music appreciation.
“Fever,” a song by John Davenport and Eddie Cooley featured vocals by Brittany Traufler who has been with the jazz band for a year.
“Fever was my favorite song, I loved Brittany’s vocals!” said a local student of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Anel Altamirano. “She is truly talented and gave the song her own spin.”
The crowd was packed with families and students from nearby colleges not only limited to Irvine Valley College students.
Bill Blackwell introduced “I’ve got Plenty of Nothing” to the jazz ensemble which combined both hip hop and swing elements.
During “I’ve got Plenty of Nothing” there was a special solo by saxophonist Dennis Rudolph. The audience went wild and responded with a standing ovation.
“Nice Work if you can get It,” a song by George and Ira Gershwin, gave every instrument a solo which was unique to that song.
“‘Nice Work if you can get It’ was my favorite,” Saddleback student Guillermo Naranjo said. “I really liked the guitar solo.”
Another song performed was their rendition of “New York State off Mind,” by Billy Joel, which also featured solos of a couple instruments.
The next performance by the Jazz Ensemble will be on Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. in the IVC Performing Arts main stage.