The highlight of my evening most certainly wasn’t the flood on the fourth floor of Cawthon. Instead, it was the faculty jazz concert in Dohnanyi Hall, showcasing one of the most talented arsenal of jazz performers/teachers that any university in the country has to offer. Given in conjunction with the Florida State University High School Jazz Festival, the program consisted of Leon Anderson [drums], Rodney Jordan [bass], Bill Kennedy [tenor sax], Paul McKey [trombone], and Bill Peterson [piano]. Guest artists were Mertin Bejerano [FSU alum, piano], Don Aliquo [tenor sax], and Dr. Wayne Goins [guitar].
The choice to hold the concert in Dohnanyi was a little sketchy in my opinion. Although all of the other instruments were amplified in some way, the drums seemed to take off a little too much acoustically in the environment. The bright sounds of the cymbals and snare shot upwards to the audience, whereas the same sounds in Opperman (a more traditional music hall) would’ve been more subdued. This acoustic finding puts another notch on my theory-of-what-type-of-performances-should-be-in-what-hall belt.
That being said, any acoustic problems are basically unworthy of mention when the evening’s performance is brought to light. Instead of trying to describe it, I will upload a recording when it becomes available to me. Suffice it to say that these people know how to perform their shit, and they do it well. That concert was one of the most vibrant and intelligent performances that I have been to in a long time.
