The audience was covered in a deep blue light, while the stage starkly contrasted with a warm yellow hue of light. All that sits on the stage is a piano, an upright bass laid on its side, and a drum set.
The five musicians walked out and took their place at the piano, drum set and picked up the bass. There were also two saxophones, one tenor and one alto. Without a word, the tenor counted off the first tune. Just like that, the show had begun.
The James Theater hosted the Sam Ross Quintet, consisting of some of the best local professional musicians. Sam Ross performs alongside fellow saxophonist Marvin Truong, pianist Carson Parker, Blake Shaw on bass, and Jack Deahl on drums.
“It was a good time [with] amazing young players. They like playing together, and it shows,” Bob Fox, an Iowa City local, said after the concert.
Off the bat, the quintet brought a lot of energy. Intricate and flowing sax with classic walking bass lines filled the room. The drumming was crisp and precise, with immaculate piano playing. The instrumentation was amazing, but the physical performance was just as good.
As they were playing, there was never a dull moment. The band was constantly moving and bobbing with the music, inadvertently elevating the audience experience. During improvisation solos, bandmates would shout and yell with encouragement whenever an impressive lick was played. A lick is a short phrase of notes often improvised to embellish solos.
“I really liked the D’Angelo song and their original song,” concert attendee Carter Halvorson said, “it was really surprisingly good.”
The quintet performed a variety of hip-hop and R&B styles while also showcasing original music. In this case, they did a cover of D’Angelo’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” which showcased their range in genre and ability to play different parts that usually wouldn’t be played by that instrument. The beat was extremely groovy and was super easy to tap your foot to.
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A quintet is a normal-sized jazz band, yet it is still considered to be fairly small. This has its advantages and disadvantages.
“I think it’s more stripped down, everyone can go their own way and have more creative freedom. If everyone deviated in a big band, it would be chaos.” Halvorson said.
Each song featured a solo from most of the members. Some solos focused on a certain lick while others rode the scale and improvised.
“Everybody gets a chance to kind of stretch out a little bit, but you have to have a little bit of chemistry to make it fun,” Fox said regarding the smaller size format.
The band certainly had chemistry, laughing and having, what seemed like, conversations in the middle of playing. This made the performance seem super relaxed and intimate. This became more apparent as the show moved forward as the players became more comfortable.
The last song featured a special guest, Mathuin Smith, who also played the tenor saxophone. He added a great presence to the band and had an excellent solo that wrapped up the concert perfectly.