‘Baby, it’s cold outside’: jazz concert welcomes holidays

The set was decorated with poinsettias and the stage was set to represent a winter wonderland. As the lights dimmed and the musicians warmed up their instruments, those in attendance quieted in anticipation of the festive night to come at the Musical Arts Center.

Members of the Jacobs School of Music faculty and students gave an early Christmas present to the Bloomington community: a jazzy holiday concert, on Tuesday.

The musical evening started with a medley of holiday classics such as “Jingle Bells” and “Frosty the Snowman” led by conductor David Effron, chair of orchestral conducting.

The 62-piece orchestra featured the classic mixing of the horn section, string section and percussive drums. Harps and a bass guitar added jazz-oriented sounds to the
orchestra as well.

Grammy award winner and Lecturer in Music Sylvia McNair and Associate Professor of Voice Brian Horne sang a romantic yet friendly duet of Frank Loesser’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”

To add variety, the Latin Jazz Ensemble performed a salsa-inspired “Havana
Holly Jolly.”

The harp duo following this global interpretation of the holiday season performed “Greensleeves.” The lights of the MAC shined only on harpists Maggie Grove, a Jacobs alumna, and Abigail St. Pierre during this more solemn portion of the evening.
The orchestra also played a jazzy version of a traditional Christmas carol, delivering “Bad King Wenceslas” to the audience. Professor of music Steve Houghton pointed out this tune was anything but traditional.

IU Manuscripts Curator Saundra Taylor said she was ecstatic about the holiday selections.

“I love it,” Taylor said, “I just love jazz. I love hearing the faculty play with the students. It’s a wonderful holiday program.”

Junior Lydia Bigelow said she liked the mix of jazz and orchestra. She said she also noticed how much the orchestra matched with the original style of the songs.
“I think that they do match very closely,” Bigelow said. “It’s great.”

Some audience members’ opinions differed from Bigelow’s, as they were not familiar with the original versions of these songs.

For doctorate student Hwunduk Suh, Tuesday’s performance was the first time he had seen a live holiday band.

“It’s very cool, the combination of the orchestra and the brass,” Suh said. “It’s an experience that I’ve never had. I listened to CDs, but this is my very first time seeing it live. It’s a new experience.”