May 5, 2021, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Shades of Blue, Grand Rapids Community College’s vocal jazz ensemble, is planning an outdoor concert on Friday to safely share live music with an audience for the first time in more than year.
The Jazz on the Lawn performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on May 7 outside the GRCC Library and Learning Commons. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets and health screening forms are required and must be acquired in advance. They are available here.
The college is following strict safety protocols, including requiring guests to wear face coverings and complete a health screening form.
“I wanted to find a way to do a live concert safely because most of us haven't experienced live music in 15 months, and a music ensemble isn't really complete until it's sharing music with an audience,” professor Jed Scott said. “the students in Shades of Blue have worked so hard to master difficult music this year under challenging circumstances.”
Shades of Blue is a vocal jazz ensemble consisting of eight to 14 singers accompanied by a rhythm section of piano, bass, drums and other instruments as needed.
The ensemble over the years has received national and international recognition, and has performed at Carnegie Hall.
Scott said the class has operated remotely for most of the year, including performances that included students singing separately and edited together.
The class’ first in-person rehearsal was March 16. Students were indoors, in the choral rehearsal room with microphones enabling them to safely social distance and sing quietly, to spread fewer aerosols. The room also was emptied for 15 minutes every 30, moving outside or elsewhere to keep singing.
Shades of Blue will be presenting three group numbers. “Centerpiece,” from the group Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross; an a capella version of the Real Group’s “Bumble Bee;” and “Can't We Be Friends” as recorded by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
In addition, five singers will be presenting solos that they prepared for a Zoom masterclass with Dr. Kate Reid, head of the Jazz Voice Department at the University of Miami.
Shades of Blue will be joined by the Fred Knapp Trio. Knapp is a GRCC Music Department alumnus, and will be joined by local jazz musicians David Proulx and Rob Hartman.