Jazz At The Los Angeles Southwest College Admissions Office: Concert Review

It was a cloudy day of December 5, 2019 as I entered the towering halls of the Los Angeles Southwest College Admissions Office. I am welcomed with a breeze of cool yet comforting air as I look where the event is happening. The walls are covered with very mellow and neutral colors such as blue, grey, and yellow as the floor is a nice concrete floor. As I made my way to the seating arrangements, the chairs were a little old and brown and won out the types of chairs that you would use to sit in back in middle school or family parties. The people around me were mainly typical college students with the exception of the very few adults and high school students that were mingled along with me. I settled down in a comfortable chair in the second row as I could make out the middle centerpiece of the long hallway where stands a large square mat with all of the musicians on it prepping to play. I found it to be a very niche and not the exact optimal type of arrangement. However, I gave them the benefit of the doubt since they were performing in the middle of the Admissions Office and saw this environment as kind of a blessing rather than a burden. The musicians that were going to play were a trio of jazz enthusiasts all inspired by the same passion for music.

The drums was played by Donald Dean who is an established musician who has helped create a full record called Swiss Movement by Les McCain and appeared to be the most informative in the band. For example he explained the acoustics were reflective as Dean stated that without acoustics sound will not travel. Playing the bass and main singer was stage name Ms. Wheeler who graduated from the California Institute of Arts or more famously known as Calarts with a Bachelor’s degree in both Art and Music. She also has been teaching as Los Angeles Southwest College ever since 2007. The viola was the fabulous Lavette Allen who was a graduate from the University of Iowa and not only plays viola but plays other instruments such as the alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass, and many other treble instruments. She has been involved in the teaching district ever since 1996. They were all influenced to play by the era of jazz music from way back when to show it to the modern contemporary world or as they said “Bring it back!” which I honestly found hilarious.

The song that I will be choosing from the concert is a cover of Ella Fitzgerald’s I’m Beginning To See The Light. The form of this song is jazz while at the same time is of the classic American popular song. It uses the rhyme scheme of The Violette or abbb. This work conforms to the classic swing and beat of the jazz era while at the same time the singer gives the lyrics her own spin by ad libbing between lyrics the words, “Yeah” and “Dododododo” all while complementing the bass, drums, and viola. The gig utilizes a main feature that is the most iconic figure respensted in jazz which is the trumpet. Instead of staying akin to the original song, the viola is glad and triumphant at not only replicating the sounds and cues of the trumpet but playing her own spin on it. A stylistic choice that abandons the norms but complements it at the same time is how Allen tends to play more consecutive melodies, made up of quite different, even contrasting, phrases, producing more the effect of speech or language. Once Ms.Wheeler is done singing a part the violin talks back in a snazzy and catchy tune that is easily understandable by the audience which is a touch that I really enjoyed. When all organized and synthesized into a great bond, this system of playing and going off of each instrument inevitably produces a more interesting and melodically richer tune, which is akin to the ordinary song.

The values that are presented in this cover of the song can be traced to the concept of falling in love and change. Some lyrics from the song deal with romantic images such as “lantern-shine” and “rainbows in my wine” to which I can interpret that the singer perhaps was careless and blind until falling in love.This song also encourages, celebrates, and rewards newness, originality, personality, and meaningful expressiveness in music. As the Jazz period was known for being most effective and truest to its values when musicians get creative within the context of the style. To play jazz requires deeply and fundamentally creative skills which are the abilities to improvise expressively and uniquely interpret music written by other people which is exactly what Donald Dean, Ms. Wheeler, and Lavette Allen were aiming for. This work relates to my value system as I know how it feels to be in love. Falling in love for me is a nervous yet happy emotion to me and when listening to this cover in the audience, I started to imagine scenarios of when I first saw my potential love interest or crush since the flow was very melodic. I believe in love at first sight and that’s the exact type of vibes that I got from this piece. I also related the values of change to my philosophy on how I have evolved and matured over time. I have learned to not only be a more caring and hardworking person but I also learned that life isn’t a straight line. I had my empowering achievements while endured dark defeats which I learned to move on from and adapt for the better good. From this song, I could connect my philosophy on life lessons to the idea of change and how I am able to accept who I am as a maturing adult.

This cover can be compared to my favorite old timely song It’s Been A Long, Long Time by Harry James which both tackle the themes of love. Only in James’s song it is about an old war veteran returning to his wife from the impending world wars that were occurring during the time. Both utilize the use of the violin or viola respectively to covey an elegant and lovely story that culminates and give the viewer a story of falling in love all over again. Evident by the lyrics “Haven’t felt like this my dear since can’t remember when” implies that the singer can’t recall how much they have embraced and loved his/her significant other. Another song I want to relate to this song is That’s Life by Frank Sinatra which also utilizes the lyrics and themes of life and change to illustrate how life can be rambunctious and a token of gratitude if you look really closely at the little details embedded within you.

The environment of LASC provided a neutral and very simplistic type of setting for the jazz band of Donald Dean, Ms. Wheeler, and Lavette Allen. The song that I found the best from the concert is a cover of Ella Fitzgerald’s I’m Beginning To See The Light. The Band utilizes the viola to replace the trumpet and spin a tale of its own while staying true to the jazz format. The song gives values of change and falling in love that is interpreted to me by not only loving yourself but loving others and even a significant other is a beautiful asset of life. This song compared to That’s Life by Frank Sinatra and It’s Been A Long, Long Time by Harry James are the same as while being unique in their own special way. In conclusion, the jazz band of Donald Dean, Ms. Wheeler, and Lavette Allen was an outstanding and lively experience to behold.