When I was younger, I hadn’t listened to much jazz, but I didn’t really see what was so great about it. Since hindsight is always 20/20, I really can’t understand why I thought that. I’m not sure when the great switch in my mind turned on, but at some point it did and I realized that jazz was a beautiful thing to be enjoyed by all people. Ok, I’m done waxing poetic now and ready to get to the point.
The point is that the local university had their annual jazz band concert this evening, and it was quite enjoyable as always. Some friends, my wife, and I got together at the university auditorium for a night of jazz. It was really quite the interesting compilation of music. I’ll be honest and say that while I love to listen to jazz, I’m not a jazz connoisseur so I couldn’t identify for you all the different styles. I can say that there were pieces where my legs and arms and fingers and head wanted to beat to the rythm and stare at the skills of the drummer as drool dripped out of my mouth, while other songs had this almost serene feeling that nearly put me to sleep, not out of boredom but just contended happiness. It was like that feeling where you’ve eaten a big meal and then crashed onto the couch in the sun. You drift off with a smile on your face.
It was a great evening, the company was wonderful, and the band was incredible. Some of the student compositions were amazing and the guest conductor/composer was surprising and talented as well. All in all, I can’t think of a better way to finish off the first day of the work week.
