In the Mood

We listened to "In the Mood" by Glen Miller today in class and it got me remembering two years ago when we played it in jazz band. I think that it is a standard swing song along with "Sing, Sing, Sing." We played "In the Mood" more in a hot style than what was played in class. It was a jazz ensemble with 2 alto saxes, 2 tenor saxes, 1 bari sax, 4 trombones, 5 trumpets, bass, drumset, and piano. So roughly 16 musicians. I was in the band for the second half of the year because one of the saxophones quit and they needed a replacement. I always wanted to do it, but didn't really have the time commitment, so I never auditioned. In my first concert with this band, we played "In the Mood" and our conductor was making adjustments even while we were warming up right before the show. There is a section where a tenor and alto sax go through the call and answer type solo that we talked about in class. On the last day of school, we played this song again at the Rochester International Jazz Festival in downtown Rochester. This was my most fun moment in music so far. When we played this song, people would get up and start dancing. There were a couple kids dancing in front of me. Having a crowd get into the music makes it that much more fun for the performer. After the show our conductor told us a guy came up to him and said "That song is one of the most overplayed songs by high schools, but you guys rocked it," or something to that extent. If you don't get into the swing type of playing, the songs can be butchered. It is a real interesting and fun genre of jazz.