After playing a solo section of the jazz standard Moanin with the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Jazz Ensemble for world-renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis Tuesday afternoon, a sophomore music composition major was hard-pressed to describe the unique opportunity.
“I have no words,” said James Kies, an alto saxophonist from La Crescent, Minnesota. “It felt good.”
The UWO student organization Students for Music partnered with The Howard to bring Marsalis and his high-profile jazz group–the Branford Marsalis Quartet–to Oshkosh for the masterclass with students on campus and an evening concert at The Howard.
Students for Music secretary and UWO senior Molly Hennig, of New Ulm, Minnesota, helped with logistics and marketing of the event.
“I’m really glad that our students got to hear from a musician of his caliber about the joy that comes from music,” said the vocal performance and music industry major.
After listening to the students perform, Marsalis said, “You guys sound great.”
He shared advice and took questions from the students, faculty and community members for a little over an hour on stage in the UW Oshkosh Music Hall.
In a casual but direct manner, Marsalis advised the students to spend as much time as possible listening to recordings by jazz greats as well as all types of music, including classical. “You need to prepare musically for all situations.”
He compared playing music to a theater performance, advising that it’s not enough for actors to know all the words in a play–they also need to have the emotion.
“In music, you’ve got to practice so you create a sound that has an emotional impact on the listener,” he said.
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