1, 2, 3, 4, CRASH! Shimmering cymbales startled the room as the roaring melody of trombones echoed off the old brick walls and silenced the clamouring dining hall.
All that was left was the smell of wine and the sound of live jazz vibrating through the warm air.
City College’s Monday Madness Band performed their first jazz set of the school year Sept. 29 at SoHo Restaurant and Music Club . The room was captivated. Pastas were neglected as the rhythm of fast swing jazz overwhelmed attendants’ spirits, causing their eyes to lock onto the shiny brass and their feet to tap along with the beat.
“How can I define why I love music? It just moves my soul,” Greg Brown, a local jazz lover in attendance said.
Monday Madness was a night for all music lovers, from casual attendants looking for a fulfilling night to jazz enthusiasts who felt the history of the music in every note.
“The thing I love about jazz is that it’s the perfect intersection of improvisation and structure,” Brown said.
Directed by Andrew Martinez, the Monday Madness Band is an ensemble of local professionals and young aspiring artists to perform high-quality music and express the music they love.
Jazz is unique for allowing creativity to happen live. Every performance had a new original composition.
“You’re doing something in the moment like a surfer who’s out there on the waves and they’re not thinking about anything else,” Martinez said.
Justin Claveria, lead Tenor Saxophone, said what it was like to improvise a solo.
“It’s like you’re writing a story while you go along,” Claveria said. “It’s like a movie. It’s got its highs and lows, it’s got its car chases, it’s got its love scenes. It’s all the same way.”
Every song performed Monday night came with solos which resulted in a large applause for the artist’s creativity.
Martinez was questioning certain moments while being the director during a solo.
“I feel like [I’d] better get out of the way, but I need to think of [how] can I get out of the way,” Martinez said. “Is there anything really critical that I’m worried the band might not get through when I’m gone.”
As Director, Martinez’s job is to be a stable guide for the band. He kept the tempo, reminded the band of future parts and communicated with artists through eye contact and his hand signals. Martinez also acts as spokesperson for the band as he interacts with the audience.
“Sometimes it’s hard to think of what to say,” Martinez said. “You want to be funny, you want to be entertaining . . . but then you want to talk about the songs and you want to talk about the players.”
Monday Madness Band will return 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 at SoHo. Other jazz bands anyone can see are City College’s two other bands at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 at City College’s Garvin Theater.
