I virtually attended Nate Smith’s jazz concert held at the Vienne Ancient Roman Theatre in Vienne, France. The performing musicians included Nate Smith (drums), Brad Allen Williams (guitar), Jaleel Shaw (alto+soprano saxophones), and Jon Cowherd (fender Rhodes, piano) (Culturebox, 2022). The band played eleven pieces, including “Street Lamp,” “Collision,” “Pages,” and other compositions.
“Street Lamp” is a composition that lasts for eight minutes and seeks to capture Smith’s experience traveling through his neighborhood on a bicycle, thus explaining its swirly but calm mood. The piece represents the cool jazz style due to its overall lighter tone compared to traditional jazz and quite a relaxed tempo. Regarding my overall impressions, I perceive the piece as a soothing and extraordinary composition; a guitar solo in the middle is my favorite part of it.
The next piece is called “Collision;” it is a 6-minute composition with strong drum parts that quickly become replaced with the calming sounds of the guitar. In terms of style, it meets the definition of cool jazz, which is evident from the unusual combination of its elements and the song’s overall light mood that is rather relaxed. As for my impressions, the piece, aside from being musically complex, represents rapid changes in moods and tempo, thus being extremely emotional. My favorite section of it is the drum introduction that opens the piece and sets the tempo for the first, slower part of it.
The third piece is “Pages,” which is a 5-minute song. The song represents the cool jazz style due to its overall soft sound, various melodic lines played together, and the relaxed tempo. As for impressions, I would describe the piece as an ideal representation of modern jazz and the style’s internal variety. My favorite section is a piano solo in the middle of the piece; this section offers more variety to the previously introduced melody and makes the piece a bit more dynamic for some time.
Reference
Culturebox. (2022). Nate Smith @ Jazz à Vienne 2022 [Video]. YouTube. Web.