It’s not often CLC’s Monday Night Jazz Ensemble director Michael Flack performs with the group. But on April 29, he’ll sit down at the piano to play some jazz licks and improvise to “Alice in Wonderland,” a Disney tune.
“People have asked me to perform — so I’m going to do it,” said Flack.
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But it’s also because the concert will be devoted to featuring individual band members perform solo improvisations.
“Instead of having a piece that several people solo on, I’m featuring one person each piece,” Flack said. “I try to throw in some on each concert, but this concert, I just felt like I’ve got so many soloists who are really good players.”
Not everyone in the band is able to solo and improvise, he said. Those who have learned to be good at it have listened to a lot of jazz solos and learned to analyze the music and practice what they hear.
Some jazz musicians approach soloing by playing what they hear while others learn from a more theoretical perspective, he said. That includes knowing the harmonic progressions.
Two tenor saxophonists will perform an up-tempo Oscar Peterson piece in which they trade solos in a call-and-response style. “They listen to each other and they play off one another,” Flack said.
A tenor saxophonist will solo on another piece, and a baritone saxophonist will solo on an arrangement of a Stevie Wonder tune, “Send One Your Love.”
“You don’t often get to hear the baritone saxophone playing solo,” Flack said.
Dave Hibbard, who directs the Tuesday Night Jazz Ensemble (which will also perform), will solo on trumpet to a Stan Kenton song, “And then I’m featuring a student trumpeter player on ‘Take the A Train,'” Flack said.
A solo trombonist will play a Quincy Jones arrangement of “The More I See You.”
A saxophonist and the drummer will solo together in a jazz standard, “Stella by Starlight.”
“The sax plays four measures, then the drums four measures and back and forth,” Flack said.
“The jazz ensemble has had fun putting these pieces together,” he said. “I think the audience will enjoy the program.”
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer.
Spring Jazz Concert: CLC Monday and Tuesday Night Jazz Ensembles
When: 7:30 p.m. April 29
Where: Mainstage Theatre, College of Lake County, 19351 Washington St., Grayslake
Tickets: $5-$6; children under 18 free
Information: 847-543-2300; jlc.clcillinois.edu