“We do not want to strip the uniqueness of the instrument,” Davis said. “They are also part of the whole.”
The jazz ensembles will perform a concert at 8 p.m. Thursday in Auer Hall. The concert will feature guest artist Darmon Meader.
The ensembles are both directed by Davis. The Vocal Jazz Ensemble I consists of more experienced musicians, while IUnison, or Vocal Jazz Ensemble II, is an intermediate group.
Davis, who is an adjunct lecturer in choral conducting and jazz studies in the Jacobs School of Music, said both groups have talented musicians.
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble I won the Down Beat Award in the Graduate College Vocal Group category in 2014 and 2015. The ensembles have performed in New York City, including performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Meader, an adjunct faculty member in the jazz vocal department, visits IU three times a semester to work with students. He is a renowned vocalist, saxophonist and arranger, and he is the founder and musical director of New York Voices.
“He certainly is an artist in its true form,” Davis said.
The program will include a cross-section of many kinds of jazz, including standards, fusion and bebop, Davis said.
Jazz is challenging and intimate, Associate Director Ly Wilder said, and the singers in these ensembles learn skills like improvisation.
The ensembles also place emphasis on solo performance, and the vocalists have frequent opportunities to sing at the microphone, Wilder said. When there is only one person on a part, the musicians learn how to be confident, she said.
Wilder said the concert features a vast program.
“I’m looking forward to sharing a wide variety of repertoire,” Wilder said. “The singers travel through many styles.”
Wilder said the concert is also a showcase of an American art form.
“Jazz is our music, so we can take a lot of pride in taking our ensembles through this repertoire,” Wilder said.
The voice is the root of all jazz, and the students in the ensembles have a responsibility to understand the art Davis said. He said to be a student of jazz, the musicians must learn they have the ability to bring the music off the page.
“My favorite part about working with them is watching the mics come on as the music becomes more and more beautiful,” Davis said.
