With commencement just around the corner, Saturday night's Senior Feature Concert put on by the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble provided the perfect forum for a display of graduating jazz talent. Director Don Glasgo aptly described the concert as a "powerhouse of features" highlighting the music of four graduating Dartmouth students and one Hanover High School freshman.
Saturday's program featured a variety of music from Duke Ellington to Benny Golson that showed off the talents of the ensemble as a whole, as well as individual musicians. Performing J.J. Johnson's "Sketch for Trombone and Orchestra," Tom Killeen '93 proved that his position as lead trombone was well deserved. His dramatic solos were very well received by the audience.
Laura Iwan '93 on lead trumpet demonstrated her prowess in Benny Golson's "I Remember Clifford." Her clean and exciting solos were some of the most enjoyable moments of the concert.
Adam Klipple '92 and David Blum '93 performed works of their own creation. Klipple played his original selection "May 8th, 9:34 PM." This piano piece painted a bright picture for his future as a professional musician. Klipple followed with a jazzy rendition of "Real Love" that kept him jumping from keyboard to piano like a one-man-band.
The crowd was very receptive to Blum's piece "Apple Bound," which displayed his ability as a musician and composer. One of the highlights of the evening occurred when Blum breathed a sigh of relief at the end of successfully performing his work of serious merit.
In addition to the Barbary Coast's regular members, the concert featured the talents of Ben Gerstein on the trombone and vocalist Tanielle McBain '96. Gerstein is a 15-year-old freshman at Hanover High who has been playing with the Coast throughout the year. Gerstein's stunning solo rendition of Charlie Parker's "Barbados" demonstrated that his abilities reach far beyond his 15 years. Glasgo announced during the concert that if Gerstein continues to progress as he has so far, he "has the makings of a major jazz star!"
Although the Barbary Coast does not normally feature a vocalist, Glasgo said he had to make an exception when he first heard McBain's vocal talent.
Although it was obvious that the Barbary Coast is losing considerable talent, the depth and support of the younger members proved that next year's Barbary Coast performances should carry on the excellent tradition handed down by this year's graduating musicians.
