By Devyn Briones
Staff Writer
TCNJ Jazz Ensemble took their assigned seats on Kendall Hall stage as the lights slowly dimmed out. Their conductor, Doug Beavers, took the stage to introduce the first piece the ensemble would play.
“You know what would be great?” Beavers asked the audience. “A theme song. This was last weekend, and I had a couple days, so I was like, let’s write something.”
The first piece performed was called “Synergy 1: ‘A Call to Togetherness,’” which was followed by ‘Just Friends,’ a popular jazz piece created by John Klenner and Sam M. Lewis. The two compositions were blended together, with the start of the ensemble’s theme song giving the audience a happy, upbeat feel and ending with the second piece on a slower note.
Just before the intermission, the College’s Jazz Quintets performed, including Matthew Scuzzese, a sophomore music major, on trumpet, Ariel Bravo, a senior early childhood education and psychology double major, on the piano, Justin Elias, a freshman chemistry major, on bass and Nickolas Alcaide, a freshman engineering major, on drums.
“They’re really designed to be of the professional level group,” Beavers said.
The audience were surprised as the four played together and each performed a solo, never guessing that they were improvising the whole time.
“In case you didn’t notice, the goal of the quartets is to play improvised music,” Beavers said. “And when they play, there’s no music, it will never happen again because it came from their brains improvising on the core changes of offer.”
The second to last piece performed by the Jazz Ensemble was “The Smell of the Sunshine” by Dr. José Beviá. Douglas and Dr. Beviá worked together to arrange the piece for TCNJ Jazz Ensemble.
“We’re very honored that Dr. José Beviá wrote this for us, and it’s an incredible chart,” said Douglas.
The concert completed with the piece “Funky Cha-Cha” which was composed by Arturo Sandoval. But before the magic of jazz swept away, Beaver told a very heartwarming story that connected his own personal experiences in an orchestra with one of his very own students.
Beavers used to play in a group called Spanish Harlem Orchestra. Jorge Gonzalez, who played the bongos, suddenly passed, leaving the members in a difficult position. One day, Beavers got a call from Jorge’s brother, Ricky, saying that his son wanted to go to TCNJ.
“I’m really, really excited to share that he's here before us,” said Beavers.
Both Beavers and Ricky made it happen, and the audience watched Brandon Gonzalez, a music education major, sit front row as he played not just one, but two instruments — the tenor and baritone saxophone.
Beavers is a Grammy winner, has recorded six critically acclaimed albums and launched his own hybrid record label and production house, according to the School of the Arts and Communication faculty page. Beavers is also a professor here at the College who has taught audio recording and production, learning assistantships in design and creative technology and topics in interactive multimedia.
It’s safe to say that the College’s Jazz Ensemble ended the night on a high note.
