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Jazz quartet jams out on stage

The Steph Johnson Trio performed a free jazz concert at the Palomar College Howard Brubeck Theatre on Thursday, September 29, 2016. The trio features Steph Johnson on guitar and vocals, Rob Thorsen on bass and Fernando Gomez on drums. This was one of the Fall 2016 Thursday Concert Hours presented by Palomar. Joe Dusel / The Telescope.
The Steph Johnson Trio performed a free jazz concert at the Palomar College Howard Brubeck Theatre on Thursday, September 29, 2016. The trio features Steph Johnson on guitar and vocals, Rob Thorsen on bass and Fernando Gomez on drums. This was one of the Fall 2016 Thursday Concert Hours presented by Palomar. Joe Dusel / The Telescope.

Concert hour continued at Palomar’s Howard Brubeck Theatre on Sept. 22, as the GPS&M jazz quartet performed their highly anticipated show.

The quartet is formed of four experienced musicians, all of whom have been playing and performing since a young age. Justin Grinnell was on bass, Jim Plank was on the Vibraphone, Tripp Sprague was on Saxophone, and Duncan Moore was on Drums.

Jazz concert hour events at Palomar are very well attended, always drawing a large crowd. Daniel Gonzalez, a 20-year-old music major who has been playing the Saxophone for 10 years, makes sure to come to all of the jazz concert hours.

“This should be interesting,” said Gonzalez in anticipation for the show.

The first tune of the night was “SKJ,” written by Milt Jackson. This opened the show while previewing classical techniques of the quartet. The next was “Without You,” written by Grinnell himself. Grinnell composed it as a Bossa nova, which is a Brazilian style of music that focuses more on melody and less on percussion.

The third song played was a waltz titled “A Little 3/4,” written by Les MeCann. This was followed by “Three and One” by Thad Jones, and “For Django” by Joe Pass, whom Plank introduced to the audience as “one of the masters of guitar in his era.”

Tripp Sprague, Duncan Moore, Justin Grinnell, and Jim Plank of GPS&M performed at concert hour at the Howard Brubeck Theatre on Sept 22. Christopher Jones / The Telescope
Tripp Sprague, Duncan Moore, Justin Grinnell, and Jim Plank of GPS&M performed at concert hour at the Howard Brubeck Theatre on Sept 22. Christopher Jones / The Telescope

Throughout the performance the audience was very receptive to the music, applauding on multiple occasions while also whispering praise for the performers among themselves.

The concert was suitably wrapped up with the popular “Pent-Up House” by Sonny Rollins, a song that even the most moderate of jazz listeners are familiar with.

For more information on these and other upcoming Palomar Concert Hour events you can contact Palomar Performing Arts by phone at 760.744.1150 x2453, by email at boxoffice@palomar.edu, or visit their website at www.palomarperforms.com.

 

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