On Tuesday, February 28, The Big Beat performed in the Music Building of Montgomery College’s Rockville campus. The Big Beat is a jazz quintet composed by MC Professor Ward Harris on bass, Bob Ofutt on trumpet and flugelhorn, Wayne Hovis on saxaphone, Jim Moulder on Piano and Mike Morrison on drums. The Recital Hall was full, and everyone enjoyed of the Jazz performances of the quintet.
They started the show with “Falling in Love with Love,” by Rodgers and Hart. That song was dedicated to people on Valentine’s Day, said Prof. Harris, before playing the song. After that song , they dedicated the next piece, “Stolen Moments” by Oliver Nelson, to a faculty member from the music building who passed away two weeks ago.
Then they performed “A la Mode,” by Curtis Fuller. They played “The Chess Players,” by Wayne Shorter, and, as they performed the songs, Professor Harris explained a little bit about each Jazz composer they were mentioning.
“Nica’s Dream” was the fifth song. The song was written by Horace Silver. Each song had a solo piece for each instrument. Then they played “Body and Soul,” by Johnny Green, which had a beautiful solo for the piano. They performed “Recordame,” by Joe Henderson and “Well, You Needn’t” by Thelonious Monk. At the end of the performance, they played an extra song by Miles Davis, called “Milestones.”
The show was free to the public, and they had a sign-up sheet for receiving emails with the performances in the school. It was a fun concert, entertaining, and cultural.