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STAFF REPORT
With the exception of a few scattered seats, Harry A. King Concert Hall was packed last Saturday night for An Evening of Ella and Ellington, the first concert in the DFT Communication Pops Series, which featured the acclaimed Cleveland Jazz Orchestra.
The night started off strong with “Take the ‘A’ Train,” written by Billy Strayhorn and proceeded with a number of hits by Duke Ellington such as “Flirtibird,” a piece that was featured in the movie Anatomy of Murder and “Blue Cellophane” which is a 1930s three-minute masterpiece featuring the trombone.
“Prelude to a Kiss” featured Director of Curricular Jazz Bruce Johnstone, but it wasn’t until Nia Drummond took the stage that the audience got really excited.
In a black dress and gold sparkling heels, Nia Drummond sang George Gershwin classics like “S’wonderful” which was featured in the Broadway musical Funny Face, “The Man That I Love,” as well as her personal favorite, “A Tisket A Tasket” by Ella Fitzgerald.
While her voice was strong and soulful, Drummond kept a light and fun attitude that really captivated the audience, whose applause was the loudest when she entered and exited the stage.
The Fredonia Voices sang the next songs by Ellington: “Satin Doll,” “Beginning to See the Light” and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” which was arranged by Fredonia graduate Alec Dube. The Fredonia Voices are a new group to campus, having just formed less than a year ago, who debuted at the Glorious Gershwin concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
“Perdido” by Juan Tizol closed the first half of the concert, which was first recorded by Ellington and featured in Woody Allen’s movie Another Woman.
During a brief intermission Drummond came out, waved to a few people and was greeted by friends and family sitting in the front row.
“I really liked ‘Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,’” said Samantha Pinkowski, a senior public relations major during intermission. “But Nia was my favorite part so far. I loved listening to her sing because she has the most incredible voice.”
“Rockin’ in Rhythm” began the second half of the show, before Johnstone came back on stage for his solo in “The Single Petal of a Rose” which is a part of the Ellington Suites. This song transitioned into an improvised jam between himself and other principal members of the orchestra. Drummond also came back to the stage and performed skat singing between Johnstone’s outbursts.
It was fascinating to watch an unexpected improvisation between professionals, who knew only what notes to play next based on each other’s progression and their knowledge of music theory. It was especially unusual and exciting to see this natural interaction unfold during a professional concert, which turned out to be quite relaxed in nature. This improvisation eventually transitioned into Kurt Weill’s “Mack the Knife.”
For the next four songs, Drummond graced the stage again, singing Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life,” which was not on the program, “Call Me Darling,” “Don’t Be That Way” and “Sweet Georgia Brown.” “Sweet Georgia Brown” is best known for its recording by the Brother Bones for its use as the theme song for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Lastly, the Fredonia Voices came back on stage to end the show singing Ellington’s “In a Mellow Tone” and “I Got it Bad and That Ain’t Good.” They then finished with “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” which was the perfect ending for the show. “It Don’t Mean a Thing” is one of Ellington’s most well-known pieces and introduced the term “swing” into everyday language and foreshadowed the swing era by three years.
Many audience members could be seen humming or mouthing the familiar skat words along with the song and squirming in their seats.
“I love coming to shows like this because they really show how much talent Fredonia has,” said Morgan Fiebelkorn, a senior communication sciences and disorders major. “The Fredonia Voices were really great, but of course Nia was absolutely incredible. She’s going to be someone big someday.”