The Music

Jazz music is very liberal, so no two performances will be just alike. Many of the Spelman Jazz Ensemble members explained this to me using words just as expressive and freeing. Miya explained, as a music major at Spelman, the curriculum mainly focuses on restricting classical music, so performing in the jazz ensemble is an outlet. The vocalist and musicians are free to improvise and embellish the music, as long as they remain in an appropriate key and the main hook is played. Since the Spelman Jazz Ensemble originates from an academic setting they are always losing member to graduation and gaining new one, so Mr. Jennings rewrites arrangements every year to fit his new ensemble. Also because of its college setting, the ensemble continues tradition by performing countless styles of jazz: classical New Orleans, bebop, fusion, cool, swing, etc. The Spelman Jazz Ensemble’s music includes elements (scales, style, and mood) of different international music: African, Asian, South American etc. Every year the ensemble shares their music on a tour of the east coast. Below is a mash up of the Spelman Jazz Ensemble’s performance at the Women’s Jazz Festival while touring in 2011; I have pointed out some important transitions.

·         Begin with a clarinet improvisation by Alexandra

·         At 24 seconds the vocalists sing as an ensemble

·         At 45 seconds there is a improvisation by Brittany Carter on the alto saxophone

·         At one minute you see can see a vocalist’s form of improvisation called “scatting”: Here is a vocalist as a soloist, the ensemble features the vocalist as background singers (to a soloist) and as a group like shown at 24 seconds.

·         1:22 Mr. Jennings ends on Alto Sax