A blue Christmas of the very best kind unfolded on the campus of The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) on Dec. 10. Students and faculty from the Department of Music, Theatre and Film offered gifts from the heart to guests at the annual Holiday Jazz celebration. UAH is a part of The University of Alabama System.
Trees sparkling with blue and white lights set a tone of festive sophistication in the UAH Student Services Building, where guests mingled and enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and libations before the show. Theatre Professor David Harwell transformed this site of many UAH special events into a cool jazz club with large ornaments suspended from the ceiling and shimmering curtains creating an intimate setting for sounds of the season.
The Low Brass Ensemble from the UAH Wind Ensemble – Christine Hayes, Nick Latty, Trever Olmsted, Caleb Ray, Thomas Robison and Brian Williams on trombone, and James Spurlock, tuba – got the party started.
Then Dr. Joshua Burel, department chair and associate professor of music theory and composition, welcomed guests to the third Holiday Jazz and introduced Dr. Jack Hontz, director of bands.
Hontz pointed out that his musicians represent all the colleges at UAH.
“For the rest of the evening,” Hontz said, “what you’re going to see is a cross section of what we have going on in our department – some of the work that’s indicative of things we do with our students every single day and throughout the semester.”
The UAH Jazz Combo captivated the audience with three sets featuring arrangements and original works by Josh Couts, director of the Jazz Combo and guitar instructor. Along with Couts on guitar, the group includes Conor Gilbert, trumpet; Hector Herrejon, trombone; Joshua Carpenter, guitar; Preston Jackson, piano; Luke Mantooth, drums, and Nick Walker, bass.
“I think the two arrangements of classics that were most adventurous on the set were ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ and ‘We Three Kings,’” Couts said later as he described preparations for the concert. “They were also the two most challenging and fun for me to arrange.”
He cited the John Coltrane quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones as his inspiration for “We Three Kings.”
“The way McCoy Tyner intensely manipulates harmony at the piano is something that I’m always trying to understand better,” Couts said, “so I wanted that arrangement to capture some of that intensity.”
The work of indie folk musician Sufjan Stevens comes through in Couts’ arrangement of “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
“He has many songs in odd time signatures, so I decided to try to come up with a version in 5/4 time.”
The Jazz Combo also performed Couts’ original compositions “Hope,” “The Incarnation” and “Holiday in Rio.” He wrote the latter two pieces for Holiday Jazz 2024.
Although “Hope” wasn’t written specifically for this concert, Couts said his inspiration fits the Advent season. He said this passage from Cistercian monk Thomas Merton captures the spirit of hope he was trying to convey:
“Because there is love in the world, and because Christ has taken our nature to Himself, there remains always the hope that man will finally, after many mistakes and even disasters, learn to disarm and to make peace, recognizing that he must live at peace with his brother.”
Interspersed between Jazz Combo sets were a variety of delightful performances.
The Piano Trio – Dr. Melody Ng, director; Elisabeth Johnson, and Kathryn Hardgrave – presented an energetic rendition of “Sleigh Ride.”
Then came the voices of the UAH Chamber Choir – Kobe Baffield, Jay Bowman, Faylee Crawford, Blaire Durham, Kathryn Hardgrave, Delia Hendersen, Olivia Henderson, Jay Hendricks, Anthony Jimenez, Oliver Klarer, Josh Mayo, Kholin Mitchell, Bonnie Price and Aulton Rorie. Dr. Matthew Carey directs the group.
UAH Theatre presented a scene from the play “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. Jaeda Smith as Elizabeth Darcy and Jaylon Mastin as Fitzwilliam Darcy offered an amusing glimpse into the private lives of Jane Austen’s characters beyond the pages of “Pride and Prejudice.”
Amy Guerin, associate professor and interim director, Theatre and Film, directed the show. Period costumes were by Heather Baumbach with assistance from Blaire Durham and Riley Niblett.
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble – Dr. Amalia Osuga, director; Faylee Crawford; Bonnie Price, and Jay Hendricks – sang “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
The Jazz Combo ended the evening with another spirited version of “Sleigh Ride” – the perfect way to bid a warm farewell to party guests on a chilly evening.
