“The Great Gatsby” has taught us to believe that Jazz was a fountain of booze and flappers, but the NIC Jazz Ensemble and Cardinal Vocal Jazz set the record straight on Wednesday, April 29 in the NIC Music Department’s performance of “Nice Work If You Can get It”. The concert consisted of all-time Jazz classics, the music selection including “Wings to Fly” and “Goody, Goody”—the same songs your grandparents probably jitterbugged to.
“I hope [the audience] understood the different styles that were performed,” Max Mendez said, NIC choir director of 10 years. “And hopefully, they had a good time.”
Casey Marotta, 19, Cardinal Vocal Jazz drummer, explained that the Cardinal Vocal Jazz had been preparing for the show since January, almost immediately after their Christmas performance.
While most of the audience seemed to be men and women above the ages of 50 or 60, everyone seemed to enjoy the performance.
“I enjoyed it immensely,” Matt Melton said, father of Cardinal Vocal Jazz member Hannah Melton. “It was another reminder of the great program they have here and how much effort everybody puts into it and their talent. It was very enjoyable.”
“I think the whole Basie style is what we really worked hardest on,” Terry Jones said, NIC Jazz Ensemble director. “It was nice to go back to the basics. Not necessarily the easy basics, but still the basics.”
After the NIC Jazz Ensemble finished their stage time with a lively rendition of “The Swizzle” (Director Terry Jones even encouraged audience members to dance), the ensemble and the Cardinal Vocal Jazz closed the performance with Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing.”
While alcoholic beverages and loosely dressed women were not featured in the performance, the genre’s classic tuxedo-themed dress wear and vocal dips were enough to throw you back into the booming ‘20s. Complete with wild saxophone solos, fast drum beats and energetic trumpets, the performance received a standing ovation.
