On Friday, October 4, the SNU Jazz Band and the University Singers both got a chance to perform in this year’s fall jazz concert, Jazz on the Route. The “route” in question is, of course, Route 66, the famous highway that runs through practically the entire United States. Featuring performances from our talented music department, the evening showcased everyone doing what they loved and having a blast as they performed each song. It was a wonderful concert and a great reflection of the already large amount of work that has gone into this semester.
Route 66 has such a special place in music history, and so many different artists, ranging from Benny Goodman to Louis Jordan, found their place here to record giant hits and grow more and more successful in their music careers. The first set of performances in the concert were courtesy of the SNU Jazz Band, led by Will Fairbanks, a first-year professor at SNU. The band performed an assortment of hits, ranging from classic jazz standards to an arrangement of “I Wanna Be Like You” from Disney’s The Jungle Book to even a couple of modern songs that were released just last year. Every single song that was chosen was unique and memorable and had the audience grooving along just as much as the band was.
When talking to Fairbanks about the significance of Route 66 on the music industry, as well as getting to perform on it, he said that its significance to American history was that “it was spread by musicians who traveled along it to perform.” In a way, SNU is continuing a grand tradition of these early musicians, with each one making their own name in a place where so much influential music was created.
Following the SNU Jazz Band, the University Singers took the stage to perform their set, led by Jim Graves, D.M.A., SNU Chorale and Concert Choir Director and long-time associate professor at SNU. Featuring quite a few students taking solos, as well as a healthy dose of popular hits, these singers ripped through performances of songs like, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “I’m Still Standing,” and “Rolling in the Deep.” However, with this concert being named Jazz on the Route, the group began their set with an arrangement of “Route 66,” made popular by Nat King Cole.
When talking to one of the University Singers, SNU student, Daniel DeLige, spoke about giving the audience a great show, expressing that “music is awesome to learn and sing, but it sucks when we don’t get to share it with others.” Every person involved in this concert loves to perform and put on a show for those watching, and continuing to have these audiences is what makes these groups keep coming back to do what they do at such a high level.
Even though this concert was a success for the music department, this is only the beginning of this year, as both Fairbanks and Graves have more exciting concerts being cooked up for the rest of the year. You can hear the University Singers again when they will be performing at a gala on October 11, bringing back many of the songs that were performed in Jazz on the Route. Concert season is now in full swing, and everyone on campus should be on the lookout for exciting opportunities to see their peers perform!
Photo by: Jacob Mash