February 16, 2012
The Hamilton Department of Music’s Spring Performing Arts Series will continue this Friday, Feburary 17 with a performance from Jazz Urbane, a combination of students and professors from Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Jazz Urbane describes itself as “a contemporary music movement which embraces and infuses jazz with great R&B songwriting, melodies, grooves, and style. It’s not really a new movement, but a new configuration of a mindset. The idea, both philosophically and as a demographic, is that Jazz Urbane artistry is mature, sophisticated, and creative, while providing a groove that anyone can feel.”
The way in which they advertise themselves suggests that they are more than just a traveling jazz band. They are a conglomeration of gifted musicians who are keenly aware of the symbiotic relationship between the story of their music and the greater story of music in America.
Moreover, their advertisement suggests that they have attained a level of musical sophistication that will please Hamilton’s music majors, music professors, and the less-musically inclined alike. Although their music is technically advanced, it is still played to a beat that the casual music fan will be able to comprehend, appreciate, and enjoy.
At 2 p.m. on Friday, February 17, Banfield will offer a free lecture in the Days-Massolo center which promises to be a must-see prequel to the performance later that night. His lecture, entitled “The State of Black American Music,” promises to provide the audience with some helpful context regarding Jazz Urbane’s relationship to the greater movement of black American music as it exists today.
Led by guitar player Bill Banfield, Jazz Urbane is composed of only five sections. They are not a big band fully equipped with an elaborate horn section or an array of backup singers. They have all the essentials of good rhythm and blues, but see no need for much more. They have a pianist, a bassist, a guitarist, a drummer, and a singer. They really don’t need any more superfluous elements to impress the audience with their compelling beat.
Jazz Urbane’s performance begins at 8 p.m. this Friday in Wellin Hall. Tickets are free and no reservations are necessary.