By Genna Cherichello

The Bi-Co Jazz Ensemble debuted last Thursday night in Lunt Basement. The group has been around for two years, according to the director John Ebbert, but this is the first year that there has been a steady group of members for long enough to think about performing. By the time the performance started, the seats of Lunt Basement were nearly all full of audience members ready to tap their feet and nod their heads to the music.

The night began with several tunes with the entire ensemble under Ebbert’s direction. The first song was the chill, lounge-y “Songs for My Father” by Horace Silver. The next song, Oliver Nelson’s “Stolen Moments,” featured an adorable interplay between the bass, Maryann Tekverk HC ’10, and piano, Hannah Albrecht BMC ‘08, which was eventually joined by the horns and saxophones.
The first portion of the show closed with Miles Davis’s “Milestones,” which was a more upbeat song with good drums from Rob Korobkin HC ’08, as well as soaring horns and saxophones. Walker Anderson HC ’11 and Carrie Bell-Hoerth HC ’11 each had great alto saxophone solos, and the song had a clean ending.

The group then switched around a bit to begin the small group portion, which included more distinct soloists and no direction from Ebbert.

The first soloist, Bell-Hoerth, played “Have You Met Miss Jones?” by Rodgers & Hart with the group.  Her solo had fabulous tone, dynamics, and jazziness. The communication and harmony between the soloist and the rest of the group was impressive, especially considering that the small group portion had none of Ebbert’s finger-snapping direction.

Raul Hernandez HC ’11 and Ethan Lo HC ‘11 provided respective saxophone and trumpet solos to Kenny Dorham’s “Blue Bossa.” Hernandez and Lo created mysterious, hot music that would be perfect for a romantic night on the Italian Riviera. The ending was awesome despite premature clapping from the audience.

Hernandez then joined saxophonist Alan Ackroyd-Isales HC ’08 to play “A Night in Tunisia,” a Dizzy Gillespie song. It was upbeat and very cool, and the synchrony between the soloists and the group was even better by this point because they were getting more in the groove. Hernandez’s solo had an incredibly fast run that I find difficult to describe, but it was indeed awesome.

The small group portion concluded with “Misty” by Errol Garner, with Anderson soloing. He provided a disciplined, smooth solo for Errol Garner’s “Misty.” It was truly beautiful, as the bass and saxophone had a delightful overlap.

The large ensemble reconvened for three more songs before the night ended, starting with “Killer Joe” by Benny Golson. It was driven by cute piano chords and a strong saxophone presence. The best solo of the night was from Korobkin on the drums during the second to last song the group would play: “Red Clay” by Freddie Hubbard. The song itself was heavy on the bass, keyboard, and drums, but Korobokin’s solo stole the entire show.

The night of jazz closed with a second song by Miles Davis called “So What.” Ebbert thanked everyone for their attendance and looked hopefully to next year for more performances from the group.

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