A crowd of roughly 90 people, consisting of parents, grandparents, relatives and regulars gathered at the two-story First Baptist Church in Hammond on Sunday to watch Southeastern’s Guitar Ensemble and Jazz Combos.

 Although the Guitar Ensemble and Jazz Combos had not performed together since fall 2006, the two groups were able to perform comfortably, creating unity and harmony, shocking the audience who saw an impressive performance, according to Richard Schwartz, director of Southeastern’s Jazz Combos.

“I think it was extremely good especially when these guys play together and are accustomed to each other,” said Armond Daigle, a Hammond resident and regular attendee to Southeastern’s music performances.

 The first group of songs performed consisted of “El Vito,” “El Circulo Magico” and “Malaguena,” all played by 16 guitarists. These three pieces were a tribute to Spanish classics that involved dancing and fast-paced rhythm and breaks.  Student guitarist Copla de Hristo Balev performed several solo breaks. The audience and remaining guitarists sat poised, absorbing graceful rhythm during Balev’s performance.

The next trio of songs consisted of Latin American verses, “Para Ninar,” “Bia ta ta” and “Azulao,” all sung by Vanessa Stegeman.

“‘Para Ninar’ is a lullaby, like someone singing to a small child to go to sleep and ‘Azulao’ is a song about a bluebird,” said Stegeman.

According to Stegeman, her colleagues are unsure of the translation to “Bia ta ta” but said it was chosen because it is a fun piece to perform for the concert.

Next was “Minor Swing,” written by Django Rhinehart, a guitarist who was involved in a fire as a child, paralyzing his last two fingers, but still managed to have a successful career, according to Patrick Kerber, director of the Guitar Ensemble. Kerber chose this song because he admired the artist’s will to play music, stressing that disabled does not mean defeated.

Following this was “Take Five,” a piece combining guitar with jazz, Durand Jones being the saxophonist. Jones said in order to stay on time with his keys, he had to listen well and tone down the amount of breath that his alto saxophone received.

“This is why I close my eyes a lot during the piece so I wouldn’t be distracted by what I saw,” said Jones.

The Jazz Combos followed up with two pieces, “Bag’s Grove,” by Milt Jackson and “Bye Bye Blackbird,” by Ray Henderson.

“To me, music is expression,” said Zakk Garner, a member of the Jazz Combos. “I think instruments, they are more of an extension to us, how you feel. They’re tools to express—whether it’s a guitar, saxophone, piano, etc. You are using it to express how you feel.”  

The last song for the afternoon consisted of every musician present at the show to perform a lifting rendition of “Oye Como Va” by Tito Puente, in which the audience sang along. Overall, the show was a vow to classical music while ushering in modern jazz.

“It’s a mixture of jazz, like classical, so you know—it’s not too formal, but at the same time we want the students to present something that has sophistication about it,” said Kerber. “It’s not just a bunch of people jamming. This is a program about treating music with respect.”

According to Kerber, his teaching is inspired by  a favorite quote by Oscar Petterson, “There are two different types of music: good music and bad music.” Kerber and Southeastern’s Department of Music and Dramatic Arts will continue to provide “good” music for future performances to come.

According to Schwartz, the Jazz Combos will be performing again on Tues. Nov. 16 and the Jazz Band II will be performing Thurs. Nov. 18, both being performed inside the Pottle Music Building Auditorium.