In becoming a musician, the ultimate pass or fail is the live show. On stage, beneath the lights, is where burgeoning performers realize their true skills and discover that indeed, this is the path they will follow.
This year’s Spring Festival of World Music and Jazz features a cornucopia of different genres brought to life by UCLA’s department of ethnomusicology and is another test for students who aim to become true performers. The yearly showcase features performances from the department’s wide array of bands such as world music ensembles, jazz combos, the UCLA Jazz Orchestra, the LatinJazz Big Band and the Ellingtonia Orchestra.
The biggest show of the year for the department, undergraduate students will not only be able to show off what they have learned throughout the year but will also be able to display their own musical skill, said Kenny Burrell, director of the jazz studies program.
For the festival, Burrell will direct three of the jazz combo bands during the jazz night as well as the Ellingtonia Orchestra, which will play the following day.
The Gluck Combo, which Burrell directs, is made up of six jazz students selected through a yearly competition and features third-year jazz studies student Kiefer Shackelford.
“It’s really awesome playing in this combo,” Shackelford said. “Not only have we all become close friends over the past year, but Kenny Burrell, who is one of my personal jazz idols, is our director and teacher. It’s beyond a dream.”
The combo will play three original pieces that were composed and arranged by different members of the group, showing off the enormous depth of jazz, Shackelford said.
While some ensembles performed May 17-19, the second part of the festival will kick off today with music from the Near East Ensemble and Music of China Ensemble. The Music of Korea Ensemble plays next, preceding the Music and Dance of West Africa Ensemble.
The Bluegrass and Old-Time String Ensemble follows, featuring classic American folk instruments such as the fiddle and banjo, and will be directed by Scott Linford, a graduate student of the ethnomusicology department. After graduating from Brown University and traveling the world for four years, Linford came to UCLA to study in the graduate department.
“As a band we’ve been all over,” Linford said. “We’ve traveled to different music festivals, and just last week we went to Mexico City to teach and perform at the National Center for the Arts. This is the third weekend in a row we’ll be performing, so we’re definitely ready and comfortable to play.”
Continuing the American trend, the festival finishes off its last two days with the jazz combos and UCLA Big Bands that will each feature a variety of styles and musical interpretations.
Having played for over 60 years, Burrell said he is happy to be able to pass on some of his knowledge to younger generations of jazz musicians.
“A lot of these students, once they graduate, will go off and begin playing professionally in front of audiences, so we see these concerts as a very important part of their learning process,” Burrell said. “Playing in a classroom is one thing, but playing in front of an audience is another.”