Hartt Student Plays in Fo'Tet Jazz Performance

By in Entertainment,

Ralph Peterson and the Fo'Tet wowed audiences with their Friday night performance.,I am not much of a music connoisseur, but I definitely know good music when I hear it. The sounds coming from the Polish National Home in Hartford on Oct. 23, 2009 certainly fit that category.

Ralph Peterson and the Fo'Tet wowed audiences with their Friday night performance. This event was a part of the Pork Pie Hat 2009 Jazz Series sponsored by the city of Hartford's Department of Health & Human Services.

This performance broke any misconceptions I might have had about jazz. It is exciting, soothing, expressive and inviting. The performance featured vibraphone, drums, bass, saxophone and trumpet. The music came and went in layers. First the drums would start, then the bass would come in, followed by the vibraphone, completed by the saxophone in a range of intonations coming together in one smooth sequence.

Similarly, each instrument peeled away, like the layers of an onion, leaving nothing but the bass or drums.

There were upbeat songs and songs that set a more soothing mood through their slow rhythm. Subtleties like the type of drum sticks used for each piece made all the difference.

The brushes' beat upon the drums completed the soothing effect within the slower segments of the performance.

Since I do not understand much of the precision surrounding the meter which dictates each beat, I judged the music purely by its sound. Even though jazz often lacks vocals, it still manages to express an abundance of meaning through the voice of each instrument.

Each instrument undertakes carefully calculated improvisations which tell a specific story within a song. The song titled "Bottom" unleashed a fury of emotion. The wail of the saxophone, the sharp, strong beat of the drums and low sounds of the bass reminded me of chaos, the inability to escape and the forlorn loneliness which we sometimes go through.

Hartt student Jonathan Barber had the honor of performing with the band on stage.

While he took on the drums, Ralph Peterson took on the trumpet, joining the saxophone and adding to the texture of the sound.

As Peterson handed over the drums sticks, Barber was given a chance to prove his ability – the very thing that may just earn him a spot in a similar band not too long from now.

Barber's invitation to the stage showed Peterson's support for young talent.

Very impressed, I found that Barber fit right into the rhythm of the band.

He certainly managed to hold his own on stage and keep up with the sometimes demanding segments of his jazz drums performance.

Overall, the jazz performance surprised me. I never really thought about the complexity of the mediums used to create this genre of music.

The channels of expression, variations and originality amazed me.

Above all, I had never considered its strong historical roots in America. Ralph Peterson continually referenced the names of some of America's greatest jazz legends – references which were, most often, over my head.

Background or no background, I realized that jazz could very well be the backdrop to our dreams. Each sound, beautiful and different, tells of the different variations of the events and feelings within our lives.

The lack of vocals made me listen like I had never listened before. The music created scenes in my mind and made me see things I had never seen in music before.

Jazz is an art form which tells the stories of many that struggled before us, and will continue to do so for as long as people can relate to the simple beat of a drum, the sound of a string or the scream of a trumpet.

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