‘Take It Easy’ with the Jazz Ensemble

The College's Jazz Ensemble, directed by Assistant Professor of Music Mark Laver, offers a chance to "Take It Easy' during the hectic holiday season.

The ensemble's "Take It Easy" concert, which is free and open to the public, will start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1, in Sebring-Lewis Hall, Bucksbaum Center for the Arts, 1108 Park St., Grinnell.

Members of the jazz ensemble work together to develop their program for each concert. Instrumentalists contribute song ideas and they all work on arrangements together in rehearsal. Their program for “Take it Easy” includes their own arrangements of:

• “Feel Like Funkin’ It Up” by Rebirth Brass Band
• “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” by Charles Mingus (lyric by Joni Mitchell)
• “Take It Easy My Brother Charles” by Jorge Ben Jor
• “Is It a Crime” by Sade
• “Freedom” by Rebirth Brass Band

The ensemble is made up of instrumentalists of all class years who are interested in the study and performance of jazz. The group, which performs twice a semester, plays music from a wide variety of jazz-related styles, and frequently performs works by both veteran and contemporary jazz composers. While the ensemble focuses primarily on traditional jazz ensemble literature, the group occasionally embarks upon large-scale musical performances of a nontraditional nature.

Grinnell College welcomes the participation of people with disabilities. You can request accommodations from Conference Operations and Events.

The College welcomes the presence of minors at all age-appropriate public events and for informal visits, with the understanding that a parent, legal guardian, or other responsible adult assumes full responsibility for their child’s safety and behavior during such visits or events. In these cases the College expects that an adult responsible for the visiting child takes measures to ensure the child’s safety and sees that the child complies with directions of College personnel. Grinnell College is not responsible for supervision of minors on campus.