It seems Grammy-winner Zaccai Curtis’ visit to the College left listeners hungry for more jazz: Last Thursday and Friday, consecutive ‘Jazz Nights’ packed the Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall with a lively crowd. For students, professors, community members, and other jazz enthusiasts, the performances offered a reprieve from the week’s work, and highlighted student jazz musicians. 

The performances featured four student combos and the Williams Jazz Orchestra (WJO), led by Lecturer in Music and Director of the Jazz Ensemble Kris Allen. Thursday’s three combos were directed by Allen, Artist Associate in Classical and Jazz Bass and Co-Director of Small Jazz Ensembles Gregg August, and Artist Associate in Jazz Guitar and Co-Director of Small Jazz Combos Jason Ennis.

The performances drew a broad audience: Some of the attendees were jazz scene regulars, while others came spontaneously after having seen a poster, according to trombonist Zaki Andoh ’28, a member of Ennis’ combo and WJO. 

“It was my first ever Jazz Night,” said Ruby Yager ’25, who was in attendance on Friday. “It was so nice. Live music just makes me feel like I’m floating.”

Friday’s event began with five pieces played by Allen’s afternoon combo, a group of eight student musicians. The selection ranged from bright and funky to syrupy and soulful. The group’s sound included alto and tenor saxophones, trumpet, piano, bass, guitar, and drums. Following semesterly auditions, accepted musicians are assigned to combos, Allen explained in an email to the Record. He hopes that, as part of the groups, students can practice working with new peers and different instructors while remaining part of the larger jazz community.

Aside from the opportunity to have fun with fellow musicians, playing for a combo offers the chance to hone improvisational skills, Cy Karlik ’28, a member of Allen’s afternoon combo, explained. “I came [to the College] with very little background with improvisation, but I’ve been taking lessons here and so I think I’ve improved in that area a little bit,” he said. “But it’s not like you’re totally making it up. You can steal stuff from the actual written music that you have in front of you.”

According to Karlik, sometimes even performers are surprised by their bandmates’ improvisational feats. The combo’s pianist, Brandon Joung ’27, began the set with an off-the-cuff riff opening Robert Watson’s “Wheel Within A Wheel.” 

Despite initial nerves, the excitement of extemporizing in front of a live audience quickly becomes enjoyable, Karlik explained. “I think as I get better doing it, it just becomes really, really fun,” he said. “And it doesn’t have to all be right. The fun part about jazz is that you can kind of make the bad parts sound good by just framing it in a certain way.”

Cheers, whistles, and claps from the enthusiastic listeners filled the room after each song. Allen’s afternoon combo’s setlist alternated between more traditional and modern music, keeping the evening’s energy high.

According to Andoh, song choice also played a key role in holding the audience’s interest during the second set, which was played by WJO. “It was music that I feel like a lot of people enjoyed,” he said. “I feel like sometimes jazz can be a little inaccessible, and I feel like this program was very much enjoyable for everyone.”

Despite WJO’s slightly larger numbers, the group’s sound, especially in moments of improvisation, is based on trust — and lots of practice — trumpeter Grace Kaercher ’25 explained. “When I’m improvising, I listen to what Avery [Allen ’27] is playing for his backgrounds and what Lachlan [Canavan ’26] is doing on the bass to know [that] I have all these options of notes that I can play,” she said. “But if they’re hitting certain things more than others, I’ll be like, ‘Okay, well, then I can favor these’ … and it will sound better.”

Though the solos are improvised, the musicians often take inspiration from the other players during rehearsal, saxophonist Elena Lowe ’25 explained. “[We’re] focusing on what the backgrounds are doing, and trying not to be in the way of the backgrounds, and trying to find the space,” she said. “Also, [I’m] both consciously and subconsciously, trying to listen to what my bandmates are doing.”

“If someone solos right before, [and] you’re like, ‘Oh, I like that,’ then you can start your [solo] with theirs,” Kaercher added. “It’s an exercise in listening to each other and blending.”

An arrangement of Norah Jones’ “Day Breaks,” the song that, according to Kaercher, garnered the most post-show buzz, featured the suave call of Lowe’s saxophone throughout the entire piece, rather than the usual short bursts typical of solos in the set’s other pieces. “I was super nervous the last couple of weeks going into this because I’ve never done something like “Day Breaks” before,” Lowe said. “I just play, and then I think I’m done now, but then I have to keep going.”

One of the evening’s pieces, titled “Amaryllis,” was composed by Artist Associate in Jazz Piano Jen Allen. The piece did not originally include the full range of instruments featured in the WJO, she explained, but it was arranged to feature the group’s unique sound. “I’m constantly thinking of [the instruments] as a bunch of different voices that can work individually or that can work together to create either a texture or melodic or harmonic or rhythmic ideas,” she said.

Lowe said that having a piece arranged specifically to fit the band’s sound was special, but having the composer in the front row was sometimes stressful. “A couple times I screwed up and came in too early,” she said. “And I was like, ‘The composer’s right there. She knows!’” 

The shows spotlighted the College’s jazz scene, giving the community two exciting evenings and a fresh taste of student artists’ work. “It was really fun to see people who I’m in classes with, and thought I knew pretty well, have this other part of themselves that I had no idea about,” Yager said. “I saw so many of my classmates tearing it up, and I didn’t know that about them. People are so humble.”

Allen explained that feeling the sounds from live performances offers the audience an opportunity to experience each piece’s full breadth. “There’s always a lot more than what we experience on the surface of any song, so digging into it, getting into the emotion or to the rhythm and to the unseen parts of music,” she said. “That’s really what keeps me doing what I do.” 

Ending the semester with some fun, WJO will be hosting an evening of swing music on Friday, May 16 at 9 p.m. in Goodrich Hall. According to Andoh, making the group’s music accessible to all is a top priority of the group. “In reality, most people just want to hear good music and have fun,” he said. “It makes me remind myself that it’s not necessary [to be] technically really perfect. It’s more about playing meaningful music and trying to connect with people.”