Jazz quintet honors jazz legend Armstrong with tribute

Trombonist Justin Davis and seven other members of the 113th Army Band traveled all the way from their base in Fort Knox, Ky. to see the Canadian Brass quintet.

“I’ve only heard their recordings, so this was a great experience to hear them live and be on the other side in the audience when I’m usually the one performing on stage,” Davis said.

The quintet took the audience by surprise when they paraded down the left aisle of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater to take the stage Wednesday. Songs performed included arrangements of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue,” Louis Armstrong’s “Basin Street Blues” and The Beatles’ “Penny Lane.”

Theater director Danielle McClelland said she had only seen the quintet perform smaller showcases at conferences, but never a full-length concert.

“I love Louis Armstrong, and I’m excited to hear his music performed by such fine players,” McClelland said.

Bloomington resident Barbara Richards had something other then music on her mind Wednesday — the musician’s shoes.

“You expect them to be serious classical musicians, but they wear running shoes,” she said. “They have fun doing it which makes it fun for the audience.”

Joey Tartell, Jacobs School of Music assistant professor of trumpet, said he agreed with Richards.

“They don’t just sit there, but they are standing and moving around,” he said.

Tartell said he attended not only to see a great brass quintet, but also to see his colleague, Jeff Nelsen, a music school associate professor who plays French horn in the quintet.

“I think a lot of us are usually performing away from home and it is great to see someone here in the community,” Tartell said.

Excited about the turnout of the crowd, Tartell said the performance is a great way for lots of music school students to see their teachers on stage.

“Jeff Nelsen is a beast,” sophomore Lauren Migalski said about her professor.

Migalski also said she was very inspired by her professor on stage.

“It makes me want to go practice,” she said. “I want to play like him and seeing him on stage makes it feel more real.”

Nelsen was joined by trumpet players Brandon Ridenour and Christopher Coletti, as well as Chuck Daellenbach on tuba and Gene Watts on trombone. Daellenbach and Watts founded the Canadian Brass quintet in 1970.

“They started the whole brass quintet and every brass player knows them,” said David Hummel, a School of Music masters student in tuba performance.