BU Arts Fest and all that jazz

Connor Kay - Staff Writer

During the Bishop’s University Arts Fest, the music department hosted its share of events, which included the Jazz/Pop Musicians’ performance on March 29, displaying a variety of songs to the student body of Bishop’s through live entertainment.

The ensemble of musicians put on a show in Bandeen Hall, and included live compositions and arrangements of popular jazz songs such as Ella Fitzgerald’s “Summertime,” Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”, and “Footprints” by Miles Davis. The live arrangements included musicians Frederic Besozzi on bass, guitarists Pierre-Luc Haché and Santiago Manjarrez, Matt Kemp on piano, Patrick Medland on drums, and singers Sarah Caddell and Willa Bateman. The group of students are participants in the class “Jazz Musician’s Toolbox” (MU234) led by instructor and guitarist Professor Jon Gearey. The variety of contrasting beats, tones, and melodies brought a large audience to Bandeen Hall, welcoming students to listen and observe the talent the music department has to offer.

Not only was the performance crafted on the spot, the musicians also asked the audience for suggestions regarding which musician the audience would like to see perform a solo and what different players of the instruments should do in contrast with other band members, creating a very warm and inclusive environment. I had the opportunity to instruct a bass solo with backing drum trades, as they called on me for suggestions regarding my preferences for a bass solo. The interactive nature of the art show, which provided the opportunity for student musicians to perform examples of their studies, appeared to make music department classrooms as welcoming as the performance. This is likely the reason that, when I left the show, I wanted more from the jazz performance. This has encouraged me, and most likely a handful of other musicians, to take music courses at Bishop’s in the future.

Soon after the show ended, I found myself in conversation with Haché and asked him about music and the BU Arts Fest. He said, “My experience with the Arts Fest as a musician was very cool; I loved the fact that people came to watch us play in class which was very inspiring, and I personally loved the band Sunday

Crisp, who performed at the Gait.” Haché was also glad to share that his favourite moments performing came from, “When everyone [was] playing to the best of their abilities and the crowd [was] loving it and singing and dancing to the music.”