The jazz ensembles did a wonderful job on Thursday evening under the direction of Greg Ball. Both ensembles brought their own flare and fun to each performance and made the show very enjoyable to watch. Each piece showcased at least one featured performer.

Jazz Ensemble II started off the evening with a very fun and upbeat song called “Techno-Pop” by Bob Mintzer.  It was fun and fast, and everyone was having a good time listening. The stand out performance from Ensemble II was a song called “For Lena and Lennie” by Quincy Jones. With a slow start, soloist Daniel Medrano on tenor saxophone did a wonderful job with the piece.

The last performance from Ensemble II was a song called “Groovin’ Hard” written by Don Menza. Soloists of the performance included Joe Clopton on the tenor saxophone, Evan Piland on the trumpet, and the entire saxophone section. The song was a very jazzy piece, and everyone in the audience seemed to enjoy it.

Jazz Ensemble I welcomed us back from a brief intermission with an amazing number called “A Mis Abuelos.” The song was so much fun, and had solo performances from Brandon Sinde on trumpet, Fredy Gonzalez on bari saxophone, Corey Wartham on guitar, the entire trumpet section, and Matt Nelson and Haden Capps on percussion.

Stand out performances of Ensemble I were two songs called “Now’s the Time” by Charlie Parker, and “Spiritual” by Dave Zoller.

“Now’s the Time” featured the saxophone section under their own direction. The piece was very fun and snappy, and with help from the percussion section and the bass, the piece was very good.

“Spiritual”, the second stand out performance of the night, had a very relaxed feel to it. The song featured soloist Rico Allen on the tenor saxophone. Allen did an outstanding job on the song, and gave it just the right jazz feel.

Overall the night was a success for the Jazz Ensembles. The music was wonderful and the bands did an outstanding job.