I’m Neriman Büyükateş, and in this following text, I am going to

evaluate Earl Klugh's Live at Java Jazz Festival. During the

whole semester, we listened to many jazz music types, and our
instructor taught us a lot about people that improved jazz
music. However, except for this semester, generally, I don’t
listen to jazz music much. I prefer punk or pop mostly. As far as
I have learned, jazz music is actually a more free-spirited music
made without relying entirely on notes and without going within
very sharp boundaries. As a novice drummer, in most of the
music I listened to during the semester, a state of freedom was
evident from the movements of all musicians. Most of the time,
most instruments had solos, and I think this is something that
gives an idea about the freedom of the music they make.
Therefore, as a mechanical engineering student who doesn't
know much technically and only has a little ear for music, I will
share my feelings about this concert and my comments based
on what I researched and learned.
To be honest, when we look at the development of jazz
throughout the semester, one of the people who impressed me
the most was Dizzy Gillespie, a very young musician, as seen in
a movie section shown by our teacher Tolga Bilge. When he
came on stage to exhibit bebop music, which would bring a new
revolution to jazz, all the musicians and the audience there
mocked what he did. They made fun of him, and if I remember
correctly, the drummer even threw the cymbal pad in front of
Dizzy Gillespie. But although I admire this gentleman the most,
the genre that impressed me the most among the jazz genres
was Cool Jazz, because even though I am a pop and punk
listener, both of which are relatively noisy music genres, I think
Cool Jazz has magic.
With all its calmness, I think it is music that does not tire you
but rather relaxes you and has a tone that will not disturb you in
the background, even if you are doing something very focused.
When I listened to this concert, I fell under the same spell as I
did when listening to Cool Jazz, and I thought it was Cool Jazz.
But when I researched it, I learned that it was Smooth or
Contemporary Jazz, but these genres were already similar to
Cool Jazz. When I listened to it again and compared it with Cool
Jazz samples, I realized that Earl Klugh's style was a little
warmer, and his guitar tone gave a more relaxed and warm
feeling.
As far as I researched, the first song is "Brazilian Stomp." I
think it’s music that bears its name because it really has Latin
influences. As I said, I am a novice drummer, and the pieces I
prefer are loud most of the time. But the melodic softness and
Latin breezes given by the guitar were good for my soul. To put
it simply, as someone who is studying in a difficult department,
I felt a little tired of loud music, although it was in moderation.
Even though it gives energy when listened to, compared to my
feelings while listening to this concert, I realized that loud music
tires me from time to time and Smooth Jazz relaxes me.
However, although I like the "Brazilian Stomp", I must admit
that the wind instruments in the music tire me out, especially
when they solo or dominate. I feel a buzzing in my ears while
listening; they really give me a headache when I'm exposed to
them for a long time. So although the melody of the guitar
relaxed me, the saxophone solos made me a little tired. As far
as I researched, the name of the artist who plays the saxophone
is Nelson Rangell, and he plays it really well. As I said, I do not
think I am knowledgeable enough to criticize these musicians; I
am just trying to convey my feelings about the music.
The second song, "Across the Sand," was the music I liked
more than the first. In movies, especially romantic ones and
sitcoms, sometimes background music comes in, and the
camera focuses on what all the characters are doing one by
one. The characters usually think about each other or do
something peaceful at that moment. It felt like I was listening to
the background music playing in those scenes, and I don’t know
why, but I liked the harmony of the saxophone with this song
better. However, because I loved it, I stopped this concert and
researched this music and saw that there was no saxophone in
the original. As I said before, since I do not like the saxophone
very much, I can say that I liked the original recording more.
The original recording is currently added to my Spotify list, and
I’m sure I’ll listen to it.
The things I felt while listening to the third track, "Midnight in
San Juan," were actually the same as punk or rock music,
which motivates me and makes me believe that I can achieve
something. What I felt while listening to this music was hope. I
think it could give me the hope I need to keep going when
things are going bad, or I would feel good if it played in the
background when I stubbornly tried to fight something in life. If I
were a sitcom character and had to choose jazz in the scene
where I had to leave everything behind, I would probably
choose this song. However, I didn’t like the part where the
saxophone soloed in the middle of the song, but it was a short
solo anyway, so my thoughts about this song are positive.
While listening to the fourth song, "Doc," I thought it was
similar to the second track. This time, I asked my sister about
her feelings. She said that she liked the song and found it
beautiful, adding that it could be listened to during sad
moments. When I misunderstood and asked her if she thought
the tone of the song was sad, she clarified that it wasn’t.
Instead, she said it had a positive effect and could cheer her up
when she was feeling down. She particularly liked the subtle
tone and the ending of the music.
At this point, I decided to listen to the remaining part of the
concert with my family because I wanted to discuss my and
their feelings. I didn’t express my feelings out loud when I was
listening alone, and I thought that when I expressed my feelings
with my family, our horizons would broaden, and I could express
what I felt a little better. I will express my own opinions again;
there will be no change in the flow of writing.
The song "The Wishful Thing" seemed very pathetic to me.
It’s like music you can listen to after a breakup to get hope for
living. It has a soft structure as much as possible, but all songs
have a slightly soft structure anyway. This song reminds me of
Sezen Aksu’s song "Geri Dön," and it feels like a lover crying
for another lover. I think the tone of the music is similar to the
song "Geri Dön."
The sixth music part is named "This Time." I think this music is
similar to the fifth, but in terms of the feeling it gives, it
provides much more hope than the fifth one. The structure feels
like a guitar solo accompanied by a keypad. I like it, and again I
feel hope, as though I am sitting on grass or sand with the
rustle of the sea, children’s voices, and birds chirping in the
background.
The song "Vonetta" is obviously one of the liveliest ones. It
was very cheerful, and it would be fair to say that a couple
dancing salsa came to my mind. However, as we listened after
the midpoint, because the keyboard and flute became more
active, the music reached a structure we can call more modern.
I think it was a very logical and appropriate decision for this
cheerful song to come after "This Time." It is impossible not to
be impressed when you hear the liveliness of this music after a
calm piece like "This Time." Even though I expressed that I
liked calm jazz music more throughout the article, I can say that
"Vonetta" is one of my favorite pieces.
The seventh song of the concert was the second song I added
to Spotify. The drum solo at the end also impressed me a lot. As
someone who has been playing drums for about a year, I liked it
very much. Moreover, I appreciate that jazz music gives
attention to every person on stage.
After "Vonetta," they played a song named "Living Inside
Your Love." This music is calm and peaceful. To be honest,
sometimes I don’t know what to write because I try to pay
attention to each piece individually. Since I do not have much
technical background, I try to look at music mainly in terms of
feeling. I liken this music to the second song, "Across the
Sand," in structure. In terms of feeling, I did not feel as positive
as I did with "Across the Sand," but the peace I felt was the
same. Normally, I mentioned throughout the text that the
saxophone did not make me feel good, but I really liked
listening to the saxophone in this song. I said that I liked the
harmony in "Across the Sand," and I liked the harmony of the
saxophone and other instruments in this one as well. I guess it’s
not that I don’t like the saxophone; I just don’t like the songs
where it dominates.
At this point in the concert, I decided that I would not evaluate
the songs separately unless something unique came to my
mind for the last four songs, because I felt like I was getting a
little repetitive.
In the intro of "Sonora," Nelson Rangell’s whistle was
gorgeous. I thought it was an instrument until the camera
focused on Mr. Rangell's face, and the notes sounded almost as
clear to my ear as an instrument's.
After "Sonora," they played the tenth song, which is named
"Dr. Vacumva" and became one of my favorites. I liked the
harmony of the slow and lively parts. This song also contains a
solo of the keypad, which impressed me as well.
In "Twinkle," there was a solo of the bass. To be honest,
although the bass guitar is a very important musical instrument,
it is not considered very significant because it does not produce
a specific melody and generally provides a full background for
the songs. That’s why I was glad that the bass guitar also had a
solo, and I appreciated jazz music once again.
The last song was also peaceful, and I felt relaxed. I think this
song is compatible with the finale of the concert.
If I had to evaluate it in general, I really liked the attitudes of
the artists; they made me feel warm. Our instructor gave us
time to choose a concert, and unfortunately, I missed it, so he
chose this concert for me. Frankly, I thank him because I liked
the concert and listened to it with pleasure.