Lincoln Center, one of the most renowned music hubs in the world, has an outstanding jazz venue where many talented and famous musicians have showcased their talents. On Friday, July 1, 2011, I had the pleasure of attending a performance by Sharel Cassity Quintet in the club; it was a memorable moment. The club is situated on the 5th floor where audiences could have a good grasp of different features in the city below. Although it was a Friday night the bar was relatively empty; the crowd was relatively the elderly who seemed to be enjoying their old age with style. The ambiance was casual and was spiced with dim lighting; perfectly sets the mood. Only on the small stage in front of the big windows had intense lights. The quintet took the stage to a smattering of applause; even between pieces, the audience praised nonchalantly.
The ensemble however was a non-traditional jazz set; it consisted of trombone, saxophone, drum set, piano, and an electric bass guitar which is far from the customary jazz trio double bass. Sharel Cassity, the alto saxophonist could have been seen as the main figure of the band as well as Michael Dease on the trombone because they had composed one or two of the pieces.
The band began their first piece; a polyphonic texture composed by Cassity and set the pace with an upbeat tempo. The saxophone and the trombone seem to be the key instrument of this piece. Nevertheless, the trombone was out of the piece shortly after that. The timber of the piano was barely audible. It was very interesting and surprising, to hear an electric bass guitar play bass; to many of the audience, this was new and unexpected. The sounds of the two are relatively alike; amidst all the four melodies playing the saxophone had a prominent voice.
The next piece had a quite different mood from the first piece; it stood out as one of my favorite sections because it was more blues than jazz opening with mezzo-piano dynamics. Contrary to the previous piece, this commenced with a monophonic texture; the sax played beautifully with an intimate solo and then alternated with the trombone. Although the dynamics were the same, the trombone had a more blues tone to it. As the passion of the song heated up, all instruments accompanied the soloist. The texture altered to a polyphonic, and then the dynamics also changed to mezzo forte with a gradual crescendo. This continued until it reached a peak when all instruments slowed down almost abruptly for the sax solo. As the other instruments were in the back melody, in a whispering way, the soloist sang sharply and beautifully. Afterward, the sax and the trombone did a duet with the other instruments in accompaniment followed by a sudden crescendo to set the mode for another solo. This time for the drums moment shows his skills while other instruments were in the countermelody. To conclude the piece there was a sudden decrescendo.
The third piece was very long and came with its style; it started swiftly with the audience enjoying every part of it then there were some unfriendly cadences that went not very well with the audience; however, this was only towards the beginning. The dynamic was mezzo-forte throughout the song with a polyphonic texture. Overall, it was very dull and had no inspiring moments except for a mini solo by the piano which was the first and last time throughout the performance that it could be heard. Nonetheless, he did a fabulous and remarkable job of playing a piano solo; the only other outstanding moment of the piece was that the piano’s timber was allowed to be heard sharply and visibly.
Although short, the fourth piece was by far the most delightful song; it was a worthwhile experience, it was a famous song by Jimmy Dorsey called, “I’m glad there is you”. The sax played solo which had a very passionate and sexy tone while displaying imagery of the lyrics without any words. The instruments are accompanied in the back in a very soft and melancholy manner. Although the dynamic and texture didn’t change throughout the song, overall it was a very pleasant and emotional piece.
Before I walked into Lincoln Center, I had certain expectations of a jazz performance. The ambiance and the setting were fit almost what I had expected; I can even say that it was a prototype of what to expect from a jazz concert in New York because of the fantastic view. The performance itself was interesting but not to my expectations; however, I enjoyed the casualness of the place. I would have loved to hear a vocalist in the mix too; however, among the four pieces, only two of the pieces really grabbed my attention; the performances did not have laps between the pieces to give people time to applaud. The only applause the musicians got was at the beginning and at the end; there were no stand ovations only towards the end.