The Marsee Auditorium hosted director Alan Chan and the El Camino College Concert Jazz Band for their third and final show this semester on Friday night.
Whether it was the trumpets, trombones or the rhythm section, the ensemble all brought an element that came together just right for the show to be called “The Republic of Funk”.
One of the audience members was local resident Don Johnson, who is also a pianist himself.
“It was nice to see everyone working together, the last piece I thought was amazing and the variety of songs were well organized,” Johnson said.
The band performed 10 songs while being guided by seasoned director Chan.
Prior to being a professor in the Applied Music Program here at EC, Chan has made his name known around California for high musical talents.
He founded the Alan Chan Jazz Orchestra (ACJO), which is a mixture of studio and jazz musicians in Los Angeles. He’s also a winner of the 2011 ArtEZ Jazz Composition Contest in the Netherlands.
Four of the songs played by the band were arranged by composer Bob Mintzer.
Each song consisted of a leader on each instrument. The saxophonists blew into their instruments, while the trumpets followed along with the drummer and pianist.
A vocalist, music major Pat Thomas, was also featured in two of the songs performed. Thomas is currently in the Applied Music Program and enrolled in Applied Jazz Vocal.
Thomas, who is one of the people responsible for starting the choir here at EC, would like to see the music program make it a club or class and take it further.
“I love the contemporary music, it’s just a matter of getting the board to recognize (that) having a vocal choir is great for our program, because a lot of the junior colleges have that option,” Thomas said.
While the performances kept everyone intrigued with the funk. Potential EC students watched as they make their decision on where to continue their musical education.
Adam Kormondy, 17, a high school student at Torrance High School, was in attendance and is thinking about enrolling in the jazz program this fall.
“I really enjoyed the Bob Mintzer selection,” Kormondy said. “He’s one of my favorites. I came because I wanted to get an idea of the program and my friend Ralph Watkins is a trombonist so I wanted to support him as well.”
If you’re interested in joining the band to expand your musical talent, the auditions will be held on Aug. 29 in the fall semester. For more information, contact the Fine Arts Division office at 310-660-3715.
