eBand improvises during final performance of year
Student musicians improvised every note they played during a jazz concert Tuesday.
eBand performed their final concert at CMU this year during a jamfest in Staples Family Concert Hall.
George Hess, band director and music professor, said it was the first time the band did a concert like this.
“I am very pleased with the way the show went,” he said. “We practiced for it but with this kind of show you have to listen to each other which takes a lot of effort; it is the most important but difficult thing for a musician.”
eBand played jazz-type music with unique instruments ranging from guitar synthesizers to wind controllers.
The wind controllers were a favorite of the audience because of their unique sound.
Bad Axe sophomore Alex J. Smith said he liked them because of all the different noises they made.
The wind controllers, which look like electronic clarinets, could make sounds similar to flutes, whistles and trumpets.
“The concert was definitely interesting,” Smith said. “To me it was just a bunch of randomness and it was kind of hard to enjoy because it was so random.”
The concert was split into two 30-minute pieces: “Tribute to Miles” and “Tennis Without a Net.”
Hess said “A Tribute to Miles” was improvised right from the start and was all about communication and playing with each other.
The idea for the piece came from Miles Davis’ “Bitches Brew” electronic jazz album, he said.
eBand is made up of seven CMU students and Hess.
Mount Pleasant senior Ryan Hess and Kentwood freshman Randy Gist played the wind controllers, Mount Pleasant senior Nathan Powell and Hess played the guitar synthesizers, Illinois graduate assistant Scott Simon played the marimba lumina, Mount Pleasant graduate assistant Neil Anderson-Himmelspach played the bass, Lake Ann junior Andre Sonner played the drums and Flat Rock senior Jeffrey Szekely was on percussion.
