Jazz in the City

Last night, this music lover took in some Jazz at Juilliard. Have I mentioned how much I love my new roommate? H scored us free tickets to see two Jazz ensembles perform at Paul Recital Hall, and I was blown away. First and foremost, I never thought the day would come when I had connections to Juilliard, a school that always seemed like a mythical land where insanely talented people lived and breathed their art. It was one of those places I’ve always heard about, but never thought I’d be able to explore. But explore it I did. H took me through the hallowed halls where I heard drummers and harpists practicing behind closed doors, Opera singers conversing, and dancers (some very good looking young men) hanging out in their rehearsal rooms. It was as if I had died and was thrust into some sort of artistic heaven. Between T working in television and H working in music, attending the Emmys and the Grammys shouldn’t be too far off, right?

The show itself was wonderful. I’ve heard Jazz before and even had the pleasure of performing it at Lincoln Center with my Show Choir during my senior year of high school, but this entered a new field of spectacular. Most of the members of each ensemble composed their own pieces for their group to play. I have a great respect for composers. They can hear tunes in their heads and know exactly which notes will fit together to create beautiful music. It is a talent that I could never master, and my level of admiration for people that can create things I simply cannot is very high.

The first ensemble group was much smaller, but just as powerful as the second, and had a tenor saxophone player who was chosen to fill in for a member who had fallen ill the day before the concert. He nailed every piece he had to play simply by sight reading the music. Talk about gifted. The second group included one of H’s friends (who has recorded his own album) and a pianist named Jonathan Batiste, who at just 24 has performed at Carnegie Hall a few times, collaborated with Lenny Kravitz and Harry Connick Jr., released his first CD at the ripe age of 17 and is said to be a future legend in the making by multitudes of stars in the music industry. And I got to witness his piano greatest for free.

So here I am. Rubbing elbows with the stars of tomorrow (my roommate is a celebrity in her own right), and thanking my lucky stars that I am able to see these wonderful performances simply by hopping on a 10 minute subway ride. If Jazz left me feeling this enthralled, imagine what seeing Shakespeare’s Henry V in February is going to do. Mixing my love of literature and drama – I may need to be resuscitated.