This Saturday, November 21, Houghton’s music program will put on a concert performed by the Jazz Ensemble. “The concert will be a collection of standard tunes of the jazz repertoire, and also some contemporary jazz pieces by modern composers,” said dean of the school of music, Armenio Suzano. The concert will also feature compositions by Houghton student Marc LeGrand, performed by the combo ensemble. Big band, the other ensemble within the overall Jazz Ensemble will “be performing more well-known works,” music student Danielle “DJ” Bees ‘17 said.
The Jazz Ensemble is directed by Ken Crane, an adjunct professor whose position at Houghton is entirely devoted to jazz. Suzano noted that the Jazz Ensemble, directed by Crane, “Has existed for many years now, and it has created a very special niche for the performance of a highly specialized repertoire.” Jazz Ensemble members Elizabeth Ibarra ‘17 and Bees commended Crane as a good teacher. “He will correct you if you’re wrong, he’s not afraid to, But he will give you compliments if they’re due.” said Bees. Ibarra echoed this, “It’s a tough love type of thing.” Both students noted, “We all like him.”
Both Ibarra and Bees, expressed their enthusiasm to become part of the jazz ensemble. Ibarra, who had performed jazz in middle and high school, said she “took the one chance I had” to do jazz this semester. Both enjoy the jazz ensemble as something unique, different from their other experiences within the music program. Bees noted that she likes “how much fun the music is to play. It’s not as much pressure as in other ensembles.” She explained, “It’s a bit more free. There’s wiggle room.” Ibarra described it also as a growing experience. “I’m getting much better at allowing myself to improvise,” she said. She explained, “I have a set way of playing, a set style,” but jazz is “breaking me out of my musical box.”
Both Ibarra and Bees noted “not a lot of people know about the jazz ensemble.” Suzano commends the ensemble in that “they execute their music in the highest possible level of quality and excellence,” and expressed his hopes and enthusiasm for the concert. “This will be an opportunity for Houghton students and for the community to enjoy an evening with music that is truly American and an incredible representative of the best the American spirit of creativity and ingenuity can provide,” he said