Performance

Spring 2023

Coast Jazz Orchestra at Dartmouth

May 27, 2023

This event occurred as part of the 22/23 Hop Ensemble season. This is an archived view.

Coast seniors take over the spring concert with innovative new music.

22/23 Hop Ensemble

The Program

The Hop Presents

Coast Jazz Orchestra at Dartmouth
Taylor Ho Bynum, director

Too Many Coasts in the Kitchen
The 43rd (not quite annual) Senior Feature concert

Featuring:
Ryan McClure ’23
Sarah Chacko ’23
Daniel Lin ’23
Tony Perez ’23
Eva Legge ’22
Matt Keating ’23
Jessica Wang ’23
Shania Smith ’23
Bryden Wright ’23
Denzel Acheampong ’23
Eli Hecht ’23

Saturday, May 27, 4 & 8 pm
Hanover Inn: Grand Ballroom • Dartmouth College • 2023

Generously supported by a gift to the Don Glasgo Fund in memory of Alan Gottesman ’13 and Friends of the Coast Jazz Orchestra.

Program

Approximate duration: 90 minutes

Count Bubba, featuring Ryan McClure
composed and arranged by Gordon Goodwin

Desafinado, featuring Sarah Chacko
composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, arranged by Myles Collins, string re-orchestration by Amy Norton

Mannenberg, featuring Daniel Lin
composed by Abdullah Ibrahim, arranged by Daniel Lin

Palmas, featuring Tony Perez
composed by Eddie Palmieri, arranged by Jeff Fuller

Who Can I Turn To, featuring Eva Legge
composed by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse

Maggot Brain, featuring Matt Keating
composed by Eddie Hazel and George Clinton, arranged by Matt Keating

HCQ Strut, featuring Jessica Wang
composed by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli

Train that Never Stops, featuring Shania Smith
composed and arranged by Shania Smith

Sunny Side of the Street, featuring Bryden Wright
composed by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields, arranged by Bryden Wright

Li’l Darlin’, featuring Denzel Acheampong
composed and arranged by Neal Hefti

Louse, featuring Eli Hecht
composed and arranged by Eli Hecht

Program Notes

Of the many Coast traditions that I inherited when I began leading the band 6 years ago, the annual senior feature concert might be my favorite. It offers us a chance to say a musical farewell to our graduating members and celebrate the diversity of styles and aesthetics that exist under the Coast’s sonic umbrella. As the community of musicians performing jazz and black creative music on campus has grown, so has the size and scale of this concert—as far as I know, eleven seniors on one concert might be the all-time record—Don Glasgo might know for sure, but it is certainly the largest cohort in my time here.

Our thanks to Christ Church at Dartmouth College, not only for providing us a rehearsal home during the Hop renovation, but allowing us to invade their kitchen for what might be my favorite Coast poster/photo of all time - a visual representation of the joy, camaraderie, absurdity, improvisation, commitment and creativity that encapsulates the Coast experience. Too Many Coasts in the Kitchen is a good concert title—but I will paraphrase our April New Music Festival guest artist Toby Summerfield, and say “Never Enough Coast”! My love to Ryan, Sarah, Daniel, Tony, Eva, Matt, Jessie, Shania, Bryden, Denzel and Eli as they take their next journey—I look forward to seeing and hearing where it leads you, and hope the music will help you on the way. And I’ll pass it to them to talk about the choices they made for the concert. Enjoy!
Taylor Ho Bynum

There isn’t a modern big band around today that swings like Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. As they demonstrated on my chosen tune Count Bubba from their debut album Swingin’ For the Fences, the wind players can effortlessly play swing-your-face-off jazz, even without the support of their rhythm section. While I trust the talented players of the Coast rhythm section to hold us down for most of the piece, you’ll hear our winds get a moment to soar on our own.

Gordon Goodwin, the Phat Band’s leader, pianist and composer, writes his tunes with the same variety, power and passion as he plays the piano. Prolific in the LA jazz scene, the band has received several Grammy nominations, and Goodwin himself boasts a Grammy win from his composing work in The Incredibles. Perhaps the only thing more impressive than his playing and composing is his ability to assemble some of LA’s most incredible players for his Phat Band: Eric Marienthal on alto, Brian Scanlon (former Tonight Show player!) on tenor and Andy Martin on bone. But since I’m a trumpet player and these are my program notes, I get to elaborate on the incredible Wayne Bergeron, Goodwin’s lead trumpet player.

Remember Goodwin’s Grammy win for The Incredibles score? Wayne Bergeron was his lead player for that, too. Clearly, Bergeron is Goodwin’s trusted guy when it comes to lead trumpet playing—and for good reason. He’s famous nationwide and in the LA scene for his baffling command of the trumpet’s upper register. You can hear his bright, screaming lead playing in his own compositions and in collaborations with an impressive variety of artists and legends including Arturo Sandoval, Quincy Jones, Michael Bublé, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, Seth MacFarlane and Kenny G. His incredible range should be of no surprise —high-note trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson chose him as his big band’s lead player in 1986, and has said, “Wayne is the most musical lead trumpet player I’ve had on my band.”

I’m honored to be playing Bergeron’s part, almost as honored as I am to have spent the past four years in Coast. For me, I want trumpet playing to be fun. And nothing has been more fun than getting to play this amazing music with my friends over my four years at Dartmouth. So, I chose Count Bubba, the most fun jazz tune I’ve ever listened to. I hope you enjoy!
Ryan McClure

Desafinado (Out of Tune) is both a bossa nova hit and jazz standard composed by Brazilian composer Antoñio Carlos Jobim. The piece was originally written as a response against critics of the bossa nova genre, and it rose to popularity in Brazil and then the United States when Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz adapted the tune. I selected this piece because Brazilian samba and bossa nova pieces have been especially fun to play during my time playing trombone. This Myles Collins arrangement was heavily inspired by the Stan Getz interpretation, which is one of my favorite recordings to listen to. I feel lucky to have been a part of Coast for the last few years, and I thank Taylor and the band for a fantastic musical journey. I hope you all enjoy this tune!
Sarah Chacko

Abdullah Ibrahim first recorded Mannenberg in one take during a 1974 improvisation session. Named after a black township created under apartheid in Cape Town, South Africa, the song soon became identified as the unofficial “anthem of anti-apartheid movement,” being played at protests and rallies against the apartheid government. In a May 2012 interview, Ibrahim recalls how the record was smuggled by a lawyer into Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela was being held. When Mandela heard the song being played over the loudspeakers, the first music he had heard in years, he said: “Liberation is near.”

In another interview, Ibrahim reflected on the moment they came out of the studio after recording the song: “We realized what had happened is that we had captured the spirit and the mood of the nation at that time, and it was confirmation and affirmation of our cultural and political inheritance… And the public and the people picked up the song, and it was played and sung everywhere.”

Mannenberg is not a complex song, with just two simple melodies that repeat over a two chord vamp. It is an authentically “South African mode of expression within the jazz tradition, blending South African musical forms— marabi, mbaqanga, and langarm—with American jazzrock fusion.” I chose this tune not only because it’s an incredibly groovy and beautiful piece of music, but also for what it represents. It shows how in incredibly dark moments, people find ways to create community and joy. This reminds me of other moments throughout history where music was used to find respite and to process complex issues. I think of Archie Shepp’s Attica Blues, Yellow Pearl’s A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America, Wadada Leo Smith’s Ten Freedom Summers, and many more. I’m inspired by what music does, and I hope this leads you to find some inspiration in music as well :)
Daniel Lin

I’ve been asking Taylor if we could do some salsa for several years. The time has come! It was tough to choose an artist, much less a composition. I went back and forth a lot with different songs. Some had nice vocal parts, others had interesting solo sections, and others had incredible significance within the history of salsa. But in the end, I made my decision based on why I like salsa in the first place: it makes me want to dance.

Eddie Palmieri’s Palmas is the first track on his album of the same name from 1994. I love listening to it when I wake up in the morning, during long drives on the highway, or on a dance floor, I suppose. Eddie Palmieri’s combination of dissonant playing and beautiful melodic composition makes his work a perfect fit for our ensemble. We decided to try to keep the instrumentation as traditional as possible while also adding some of the personality and character that we’ve developed as a group. Enjoy, and we hope this song makes you want to dance!
Tony Perez

Hi all! I am a ’22 and an Ecology major from Austin, Texas. I have been playing piano in Coast since the fall of 2018, and it’s so bittersweet to be playing my final tune of my Dartmouth career. Who Can I Turn To? is a song that was originally written for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd in 1964, that later became a popular jazz standard, played, most notably in my eyes, by the great Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson. I played this song a lot when I was home over my COVID gap year, and it became one of the highlights of my year at home. After years of only playing jazz piano with a group, playing this tune helped my confidence playing solo jazz piano—comping over the melody, over improvisations and over transcriptions of other artists. But by the end of the year, I got sick of playing solo. I’m so excited and honored to have the chance to reprise this tune with a group with a fantastic combo, while also taking moments to play solo throughout the piece. Like all great standards, this tune is exceptionally versatile, capable of serving as a slow ballad as well as an upbeat swing, a transition which is made all the more fun in the company of other musicians. Not to be cheesy, but having the chance to play this tune with others is finally giving me an answer to the question posed in the song itself: who can I turn to?
Eva Legge

I was introduced to Maggot Brain when I was practicing guitar back in high school. The original song is a 10-minute-long guitar solo that was recorded in one take by Funkadelic’s guitarist Eddie Hazel. I remember listening to the song and not totally understanding it, since the heavy usage of delay, distortion, and other effects was a new concept for me. But then I started to play my guitar along with it; that’s how it started to make sense to me. Getting hands-on experience with the piece allowed me to see how many peaks and valleys of emotion Hazel was able to play over a four-chord repeating progression. The song became one of my go-to jam tunes to play since any musician could pick it up quickly from its simple backbone.

I joined Coast in the fall of 2019. We have these social events called Coastals where we get together throughout the term to hang out and keep the band a central part of our lives. During my first term in Coast, maybe my first or second Coastal, we were all suggesting which song to play on our speaker next. My suggestion was Maggot Brain. When Maggot Brain started playing, I remember that the conversation died down instantly, and we all sat there in complete silence for the whole guitar solo appreciating each part. That moment was validating for me, my music taste, and my place in Coast. I chose this as my senior feature not only because huge guitar solos are fun, but also to pay homage to that clear moment when I first felt like a part of this band.
Matt Keating

Hey everyone! My name is Jessie, and I will play HCQ Strut by Stéphane Grappelli and Django Reinhart for you tonight. HCQ Strut, HCQ standing for Hot Club Quintette, was only recorded once in 1939 by the Quintette du Hot Club de France before World War II broke out. Grappelli and Reinhardt formed this group in 1934 after several informal jam sessions in the Hotel Claridge in Paris. The group, which consisted of a violin, three guitars, and bass, was instrumental in pioneering the genre of manouche jazz, or gypsy jazz.

Manouche jazz is known for its remarkable swing feel and ornamental arpeggios in the melody line. The swing feel is attributed to the rhythm guitars and their special form of strumming, known as “la pompe” or “the pump”. The violin and other soloists float atop this swinging heartbeat with decorative musings and sighs in sweeping forms. The piece will start with some whistle tones from the violin, and then we’ll dive into a classic ABA pattern, with the chorus being passed around the band.

I chose this piece because I relate strongly to Grappelli’s path to jazz violin. Like myself, Grappelli was a classically trained violinist who learned how to play jazz simply because he liked how it sounded—and I really liked the way that HCQ Strut sounded. He carved his own path in a world nearly devoid of jazz violinists, and I’m tracing his path and those of all that followed him. I hope that with this piece, I will be able to demonstrate all that I’ve learned in my year-long soiree into jazz, my appreciation for Grappelli’s technique and the development of my own virtuosic taste. I hope this piece makes you want to strut around a bit in your seat; I sure will be on stage! Enjoy!
Jessica Wang

Coast has a very special place in my heart - it is where I have expanded my musical palette, pushed the limits of my musical capabilities, broadened my understanding of the function of music in society and crystalised the purpose of musical craft in my life. As I am nearing the end of my time in this incredible collective, I leave with an ever more firm belief in the power of music to make statements, move hearts and ultimately change the trajectory of lives - and I am ever more eager to apply what I have learned and share it with the world beyond.

For my senior feature, I am showcasing the start of this journey to express my newfound appreciation for music. More pointedly, I’ve chosen to do an original piece called Train that Never Stops. The piece is the first section of a 4-part original composition, and was inspired by an independent study with Coast’s amazing bandleader, THB, where we studied the function of political music and healing music throughout the 20th century to present day in various cultural contexts. From the study, I was then challenged to create a composition in which I 1) made use of the knowledge gained and 2) addressed a particular need. The need I chose to address: the need to process and heal from the social and political disarray that characterized the past three years in this country.

In Train that Never Stops, I seek to musically interpret, process, and express the social and political disarray that characterized the past three years, so as to make a political statement about the cost of this disarray to the flourishing of our society. The train itself is in fact a metaphor for our society—rich with cultural diversity, seemingly unified, yet plagued with an underlying tension that every now and then makes its way to the surface, and a constant forward motion despite this unease of underlying tension. The piece follows the story of this train that in the end falls apart due to there being a lack of constructively dealing with this underlying tension - which is eventually brought to the surface in the form of a cacophonous musical argument between the brass and strings sections, and accompanied by the feeble attempts to tame this tension by the rhythm section). It is a wacky piece, but it will hopefully capture the unease that many have felt witnessing the chaos of the past three years.
Shania Smith

In February 1930, composer Jimmy McHugh and lyricist Dorothy Fields collaborated to write On the Sunny Side of the Street, an upbeat jazz tune that outlived its original Broadway context. The song was popular from its release, and it is no wonder why. It bottles happiness like liquor. It is a celebration of life in the face of adversity, and acknowledging the dark times it was created in makes it all the more effective. The song encourages listeners to embrace the small things that make life meaningful.

While the composition is a product of the times it was written in, it has stayed relevant because of its timeless message. The classic Sonny Side Up recording by Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, and Sonny Stitt has lifted me up on bad days and made my good days even better. Other renditions, like Frank Sinatra’s 1961 recording and Sy Oliver’s arrangement for Louis Armstrong, were also influential in my growth as a musician.

I arranged On the Sunny Side of the Street for the seniors (plus a few others) to celebrate our time in Coast. I’d like to thank everyone in the orchestra for performing with me, and especially Taylor for his enthusiasm and mentorship.
Bryden Wright

Hey everyone! My name’s Denzel, and I’m one of the trombonists in Coast. I’ve chosen Li’l Darlin’ performed by Count Basie and his orchestra and composed and arranged by Neal Hefti for my senior feature. When I first joined Coast, Taylor sent us a list of albums to listen to, and my favorite one was The Atomic Mr. Basie. In my opinion, Li’l Darlin’ is the best song on the album because it reminds me of a beautiful, rewarding sunset at the end of a long day. The type of sunset that lets me know everything will be fine, no matter how tough things are in the moment. This lesson is one of the most valuable things I’ve learned at Dartmouth, so I thought it’d be nice to share it with you all in a musical form. I hope you all enjoy it!
Denzel Acheampong

For the past four years, Coast has been my musical home on campus. From my first concert playing the music of Carla Bley, I knew I had somehow ended up in an incredibly unique group, both within Dartmouth’s community and compared to other college jazz bands. Through Coast, I’ve found bandmates and collaborators for other projects, and a community of wonderfully weird musician nerds I am proud to be a part of.

For my senior feature, we’ll be playing Louse, a composition I originally wrote for a quartet featuring bass, saxophone, marimba and drums. The song centers on a 7/4 groove that gets passed around and is inspired by the music of Dave Holland and Mamadou Diabaté. I’ve enjoyed the challenge of expanding the piece for the big band while retaining its loose, dancing feel. I am very grateful to Taylor for all his help with the composition and to everyone in the Coast for putting their own creative energy into the piece. I hope this tune worms its way into your head and makes you want to dance—or makes you itch at your scalp trying to get it out.
Eli Hecht

Coast Jazz Orchestra

Spring 2023

Taylor Ho Bynum, director

Trumpets
Ryan McClure ’23
Amy Norton ’23*
Tucker Stone ’26

French horn
Raegan Padula ’24

Trombones
Denzel Acheampong ’23
Sarah Chacko ’23
Julia Picker ’24 (+ voice)
Noah Prescott ’26
Jackson Yassin ’26

Alto saxophones
Bryden Wright ’23
Ryan Tabibian ’25

Tenor saxophones
Ben Sontag ’25
Ryan Glenn ’26

Baritone saxophone
Mateo Oyola ’24

Guitar
Matt Keating ’23
Bo Farnell ’26

Violin
Jessica Wang ’23

Viola
Jehan Diaz TH
Elaine Chi ’25 (+ guitar)

Cello
Daniel Lin ’23 (+ piano)

Acoustic & electric bass
Eli Hecht ’23^

Piano
Eva Legge ’22
Shania Smith ’23 (+ steel pan)

Drums/percussion
Tony Perez ’23
Kirusha Lanski ’24
Jayanth Uppaluri ’24 (+ electric bass)
Sam Beutner ’25
PJ Griffiths ’26

TH = Thayer
*Coast Ensemble Manager
^ Senior Feature Concert Assistant Producer

Special thanks to Jason Ennis, Amy Garapic, and Michael Zsolodos for sectional coaching this term.

About the Director

Taylor Ho Bynum, director, is a musician, teacher and writer, with a background including work in composition, performance, interdisciplinary collaboration, production, organizing and advocacy. His expressionistic playing on cornet and other brass instruments, his expansive vision as composer, and his idiosyncratic improvisational approach have been documented on over 20 recordings as a bandleader and over 100 as a sideperson. His past endeavors include his Acoustic Bicycle Tours (where he traveled to concerts solely by bike across thousands of miles) and his stewardship of Anthony Braxton’s Tri- Centric Foundation (which he served as executive director from 2010-2018, producing and performing on many major Braxton projects, including two operas and multiple festivals). Bynum has worked with other legendary figures such as Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor, and Wadada Leo Smith, and currently enjoys playing with friends in collective ensembles like his duo with Tomas Fujiwara, Illegal Crowns (with Fujiwara, Benoit Delbecq and Mary Halvorson), and Geometry (with Kyoko Kitamura, Tomeka Reid and Joe Morris), and as a sideperson in groups led by Fujiwara, Jim Hobbs, Bill Lowe, William Parker and Bill Cole, among others. His writings on music have been published in The New Yorker, The Baffler, Point of Departure and Sound American, and he has been leading the Coast Jazz Orchestra at Dartmouth since 2017.

Please come hear the MUS 50/Coast Jazz Combos, led by Michael Zsoldos and Jason Ennis, at Studio Sudikoff (007) Wednesday, May 31, at 7 pm.

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