Based on a True Story: SAXsational!
Imagine entering a small-town high school auditorium with dimmed lights and a spotlight focusing on a number of beautifully shining saxophones that are perched on a stage draped with curtains and set with rows of chairs.
Soft whispers between friends, grandparents, and children dance around the room and up to your ears as you make your way down the aisle to find the perfect seat, somewhere in the middle but not too close to the front. A number of people wave and say “hello,” welcoming you to the event, regardless of whether you’ve ever met, creating a positive, welcoming atmosphere.
Tonight is a night of jazz and swing, pop and Disney, finger-snapping, laughing until your stomach hurts, and maybe even a few surprises here and there.
Imagine you take a seat and wait in silence for a few moments, observing a number of “band t-shirts” represented in the far-left section of the auditorium. Bluefield College, Bland County High School, Galax High School, Pikeview High School, Tazewell High School, and a number of others who are community members that just love music are present in the crowd, relaxed and turned around talking to each other. Many of them are holding instruments and pressing their keys and buttons or moving their slides, perhaps silently practicing some last-minute runs or fidgeting with excitement.
Imagine a man saying, “Hi, my name is Rob Verdi,” as the crowd grows silent. He grabs one of the saxophones off of its stand, and he goes on to detail the history of a couple of jazz pieces before playing solos of them, switching instruments between songs. He tells you about a very rare conn-o-sax, of which only 25 are known to exist and one in which he, himself, owns and features in a number of songs throughout the night.
Verdi invites the jazz band up on the stage, joking with “his buddy John on the bass,” causing laughter to fill the room and creating a laid-back mood for the concert where people can just “have a good time.” He stresses the importance of wrong notes and how to “pretend that you meant to do that” before every member of the jazz band takes their own blues solos. You cheer the members on, along with everyone around you.
Imagine that when it is the concert band’s time on stage, the laughter among you grows stronger as Ashley Young, a Bluefield College sophomore elementary education major and flute player, becomes the new target of banter on stage. You can see the redness forming on her cheeks as Verdi and the band joke with her, prompting her to laugh into the beginning of the band’s first song. You laugh along, enjoying the music that much more.
Verdi teaches you about another rare saxophone: the sopranino sax. The song for this fun, miniature sax is a quick-tempoed, syncopated, happy march titled “Saxophobia” that induces heavy sighs from the band members once the song is completed. Verdi congratulates them on a job well-done, mentioning that the piece was one of the most difficult, yet rewarding pieces of the night.
Verdi also has a short feature that invites the band and listeners to “Guess that song!” He plays “Careless Whisper,” and laughter and excitement ripple across the band as you and many other listeners recognize the famous sax melody, one that young sax players love to master.
Imagine the concert coming to a close as Verdi tells you about his “day job” at Disneyland and about his current tour along the East Coast. He asks Young for confirmation to play the next song, one that Verdi jokingly says is Young’s “favorite” piece. The band laughs, understanding the inside joke, and you laugh along with the continuous banter.
Dr. Charles Priest, professor and chair of the Department of Music at Bluefield College, lifts his baton to conduct one last piece. “Let It Go” from the Disney movie “Frozen” rings throughout the auditorium, and you break out in a smile at the laughter, groans, excitement, and chatter around you. Imagine this night and how truly SAXsational it is.
Well, you need not imagine any further; this adventure is based on a true story that all happened on April 5 as part of Blue Mountain Performing Arts’ 2018-2019 concert series. You may have missed out on Verdi and the jazz and concert bands’ astounding performance, but you do not have to miss out on future performances.
Check out Blue Mountain’s 2019-2020 concert series schedule at bluemountainperformingarts.com. All BMPA concerts are free to Bluefield College students, faculty and staff.