A night of good food and great music: the York Jazz Band concert

Madeleine DeGrace, Y's Tales Editor in Chief|February 15, 2018

Tuesday was no ordinary day. It was Fat Tuesday, and the sweet sound of jazz music could be heard flowing out of the York Commons as the York Jazz Lab Band and Jazz Ensemble held their annual performance. Led by band directors, Mr. Pavlik and Mr. Riddle, the students involved were able to express their musical abilities to everyone in the crowd. Great job Dukes! 

The York Jazz Lab Band started the night out with their jazz standard, “Groove Merchant.” The song had a swinging tempo that kept it moving along.
Joe Brown, a sophomore, plays his trumpet loud and proud during “Groove Merchant” for all of the crowd to hear.
Alex Waterwall keeps an eye on Mr. Pavlik, waiting for his cue to start playing. Mr. Pavlik leads Jazz Lab Band, while Mr. Riddle leads Jazz Ensemble.
On tenor saxophone, Lily Martinez solos while the rest of the band keeps in time. Usually during a solo, just the drums and percussion keeps playing to put the focus on the soloist, and everyone else begins to filter back into playing.
In between Jazz Lab Band and Jazz Ensemble, the Jazz Combo Small Ensemble performed two songs to keep the music flowing while the other band prepared. Julian Wrobel, the bassist of the five person combo, gets into his music.
David Menechini, the trumpeter in the small jazz combo, plays along with saxophonist Matt Dardick (not pictured) as the only two horns in the song.
Mason Lampa and Julian Wrobel get into the music during “Girl From Ipanema” played by the jazz combo small ensemble.
Henrik Rivaderneira lets loose during a drum solo while the Jazz Ensemble played “Bolivia.”
During a song called “Blood Count” Matt Dardick (standing) had a solo for most of the song. Dardick had come to Mr. Riddle and suggested the band play the song. Different from most big band standards, this song was quiet and slow, with a more somber tone.
Mr. Riddle, Jazz Ensemble director, is always very passionate about the music he is conducting. This is seen here when he was conducting “The Blues Machine,” a blues style song.
Eddie Ryan, trombonist, was a soloist on “Camisa Negra,” a song with a latin flair.
During the song “A Question of Hope,” many soloists were featured. The song was a more “new age” song, as Mr. Riddle put it, with a vintage flair that left you wondering at the end.