The CJB Goes to Europe
The Columbia Jazz Band performed at the 42nd
Annual Montreux Jazz Festival held in Montreux,
Switzerland this past July. The well-known event hosts
some of the biggest names in music and brings in
hundreds of artisans and culinary merchants from
around the world. Thousands of music fans flock to
the festival every year. So how did a community jazz
band make the big time?
CJB saxophonist Rip Rice, who conceived the idea for
the band to attend the festival, single-handedly took
the responsibility for all the necessary paperwork and
procedures for submission. After some suspenseful
waiting, festival officials offered the Columbia Jazz
Band an opportunity to perform at this world-class
international music festival. Thanks to Dr. Rice, the
CJB proudly accepted the invitation to play two
concerts at the July 2008 Montreux Jazz Festival.
Planning began and confidence was high, but there
was a lot of work to be done. Band manager Maurice
Feldman, who also plays saxophone in the group, had
many time-consuming details to oversee: Securing a
tour bus and guides, booking hotels and air tickets,
handling payments from the musicians, and
supervising other international travel minutiae. He
says, "It went very smoothly, but I'm glad I'm retired."
A few of the band's regular musicians could not attend
for various reasons, so Feldman and Bandleader
Pete BarenBregge sought out recommended players
from the group's sister organization, the Columbia
Concert Band, plus other area jazz bands to fill the
gaps. BarenBregge says, "For anyone who was
interested in going and filling a 'gap,' I wanted to hear
them play and meet them before committing. All came
well recommended." Auditions were informal and the
gaps were quickly filled. One member of the band was
from Montana.
BarenBregge's choice of music was based on his
teaching experience, his years directing the USAF
premier jazz band, the Airmen of Note, and his current
jazz editing job at Alfred Publishing. As an in-demand
musician and with access to hundreds of jazz big
band pieces (called "charts" in the biz), he knew
exactly what kind of sound he wanted from the band.
Of the music, he says, "I know these charts all quite
well and what would work best for this band. I
selected music to offer a variety of jazz big band
entertainment. I did not choose a lot of traditional
Glenn Miller style big band music because I believe
too many American bands believe that Europeans
want to hear primarily the Miller sound." The band
performed a variety of jazz styles, including
contemporary tunes and jazz standards such as "St.
Louis Blues" (W.C. Handy), "Cantaloupe Island"
(Herbie Hancock), "You Do Something To Me" (Cole
Porter), "Spain" (Chick Corea), and "Summertime"
(George Gershwin).
During the two months prior to the trip, BarenBregge
led a handful of rehearsals to ensure top quality
performances. A total of 47 travelers--the musicians
plus accompanying family members and friends--
flew to London, connected to Geneva, then took a bus
to Montreux. After about 10 hours of travel, they had
only one day to acclimate to the new time zone before
playing their first gig.
All the top names in jazz and international music have
performed at Montreux. Famous acts that played this
year included Chick Corea and Alicia Keys, who
performed at one of two buildings near the city's
popular waterfront. Lesser-known bands perform at a
covered outdoor park stage nearby. The audience
area was also covered, and provided plenty of seating
in hammock-style chairs and on the ground.
The Columbia Jazz Band was slightly larger than the
average swing group, consisting of 20
instrumentalists and a vocalist. This group and all of
their equipment filled the covered stage almost to
capacity. The technical crew knew enough English to
speak with the visiting musicians and do their job
well. "Communication was a factor for sure, but
through using a few key words gesturing, we did
communicate well," says BarenBregge about sound
checks.
Many listeners stayed for the entire 45-minute concert,
while others wandered through, following the open
atmosphere of the festival. Both Montreux concerts
were well-received and the musicians enjoyed every
moment of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The Columbia Jazz Band also took an extended post-
Montreux tour, which included one concert in each of
three cities: Opatija, Croatia; Bled, Slovenia, where
they performed at the "Bled Days" Festival; and
Vienna, Austria, where they performed for the
American Embassy community. Throughout the entire
trip, the band fully enjoyed playing for approximately
5,000 new fans.
(Many thanks to Pete BarenBregge for
his editing
assistance.)
