Lipscomb’s jazz ensemble performed its first jazz improvisation workshop concert, featuring guest artist Tyler Summers, on Thursday night in Shamblin Theater.
Charlie Peacock, the director of contemporary music, opened the show with a few words about the improvisational style of the concert, as well as introducing the guest performer, jazz artist Summers.
“This allows the students to see that most of the world’s music is made extemporaneously,” Peacock said. “Although here in our school of music we value notation and written music tremendously, we also know that there is a place and a time for people to do both. Tonight you will hear them as they have memorized these charts, but also improvising individually and in a group setting as well.”
The concert featured 16 students, plus Granny White Green Grass, which featured Jeff Taylor and Matt Combs, and Summers with Miguel Alvarado, Doug Moffet, Evan Cobb and Chris West.
Summers played a variety of instruments and pieces during the concert, including his own Justin Bieber remix. Summers said his musical style can apply to music outside of jazz.
“I think it’s a combination of jazz but still accessible and singer-songwriter oriented — intelligent singer-songwriter,” he said.
Summers commented that he is starting to learn his way around Lipscomb after he recently played at the Dove Awards and also at the concert Thursday night.
Summers said his biggest piece of advice to students is to “always show up on time to gigs,” but he noted that it’s also important to explore other musical styles and make them their own.
“My one piece of advice is always try to spend some time every day listening to what’s current and what’s new. If you want to have a career in music, beyond school, then try to find something that’s current and making money in the industry that you can adapt to your own being and how you are, so that it will work. A lot of jazz students make the mistake of just playing fast and playing scales, but you also have to understand that you have to have other skills too.”
Sophomore Sarah Baxley played the trumpet for the ensemble. Baxley is a classical music major, but she said she has enjoyed playing in the jazz band class and learning a new style and technique.
“The way that our class works is that we started with the basics of improvisation — the pentatonic scale,” Baxley said. “The whole class kind of works like an improvisation workshop where we get to learn how to improvise and how to better understand different styles of music. That was something that I had never been taught before in my other jazz classes, so I had a lot of fun with that.”
Next week, the vocal jazz ensemble will perform on November 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Shamblin Theater.