Monday, Oct. 20, the Big Band and Night Band awed the crowd and Thursday, Oct. 23, the three jazz combos put on an impressive concert. Anyone who loves jazz and good music in general would have enjoyed listening to them play.

The Big band opened Monday night and played every type of music, from contemporary to smooth, soothing songs to classic jazz. Their best song was “Serengeti,” a challenging and upbeat song with a little African feel to it.

The Night band, with director Dave Schmit playing saxophone, did an incredible job. The band members played cheerful and easy going songs, but their notable one was “America the Beautiful.” They performed a first anniversary commemoration of 9/11 that was a respectful and strong tribute to the events of that day.

The first combo to perform did a fantastic job on “My Foolish Heart,” a slow, relaxing melody that picks up in the middle giving it a little more energy. The second combo played a Latin piece entitled “El Nino,” a very upbeat and lively song. The third combo was very together and polished and ended the show with a song called “Humpty Dumpty,” very energetic and well played.

As always in jazz, there were numerous improvising solos. A few groups boasted guitar, trumpet and drum solos, but the saxophones were the stars of the show.