McKinney Theatre becomes home to Jazz Lab
(Anibal Santos-Maldonado)
Saddleback College’s jazz musicians played an improvised set of songs from the Blue Note Label in the McKinney Theatre Monday night, Oct. 8.
The Jazz Lab Ensemble displays the improvisational side of jazz, featuring students from both the college and the community.
The Jazz Lab Ensemble played various tunes of the 1950’s and the 1960’s of the Blue Note Record Label.
Director of Jazz Studies Joey Sellers oversaw the performance and allowed the audience to participate in the direction of the sound by a show of hands from the audience.
“What we are going to do is take a vote to decide the parameters you would like to see us use to construct the music,” Sellers said to the audience. “I’d like to call it Tyrannical Democracy.”
The band started with songs like Wayne Shorter’s “One By One“ and then followed to showcase Anastasya Korol’s voice in “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” originally from Thomas “Fats” Waller.
In the third set, Korol was joined by Jean-Luc Rollando for “Can’t We Be Friends“ originally performed by Swift James.
Saddleback’s Jazz Ensemble performs twice a semester in the McKinney Theatre. The next Jazz Lab will feature jazz/hip-hop musician Katisse Buckingham.
“We never had a rapper before…super talented gentleman (Buckingham), should be a real fun class,” Seller said to the audience.
Buckingham will perform in the next Jazz Lab, Monday, Nov 26 at 7 p.m. in the McKinney Theater.