Jazz trio grooves in tantalizing concert series
The halls are once again alive with the sound of music as Joey Sellers, director of jazz studies, and friends bring a touch of jazz to Saddleback College.
The much beloved Thursday noon concert series started off with bang Sept. 3, as students and faculty trickled into Fine Arts 101 to watch talented musicians groove with cool jazz sounds.
The trio of Sellers on trombone, Joel Hamilton on double bass violin and David Hocker on drums, treated students to an arrayof songs with their own jazzy twist.
Their set consisted of eight songs, with a few classics thrown in. Such pieces as “If I Only had a Brain” from the Wizard of Oz and Disney’s “When You Wish Upon a Star” were two old favoritesthat captured the crowd. The final song performed was one that Sellers had written while living in New York.
“I just can’t seem to stop playing it,” Sellers said.
The bands set lasted a little over an hour with the crowd enthralled the entire time.
“We really love the tradition of the music, but we also like to improvise,” Sellers said. “I’m delighted to be starting off the concert series.”
Many students could be seen bobbing their head and tapping their feet to the rhythm of the music as the trio gracefully played their instruments.
“This is my first semester at Saddleback,” said Jolene Cowart, 25, music education major. “But I loved it. I will definitely be back for more concerts.”
The concert series has just begun, and more opportunities for free shows are still to come.