3CVJE and the Jazz Pop Choir

A sea of fresh color spilled from the stage like a leaky facet. Hues so lavish in demeanor, it’d make my color strategies teacher leer. Greens, purples, reds and blues courted the audience through the Jazz Pop Choirs’, “Old Devil, We All Need Saving, and Swingin with the Saints.” While Columbia College Chicago’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble (3CVJE) wooed us with, “ I’ll Be Seeing you, Home Coming, and on the Red Clay,” just to name a few. In combination, bold instrumental performances created an alluring atmosphere of thrill and wonder.

Unlike other jazz performances I’ve seen, the 3CVJE and the Jazz Pop Choir sounded more contained. Mimi Rohlfing directed both groups. And for the most part that works given the nature of the performances. They were vocal and on more than one occasion overshadowed the instrumentalists. For instance, The Jazz Pop Choir used a poppy color coding system to distinguish which group they belonged to. The male group came from the back of the Concert Hall, sporting reds and blues. I also spotted some burgundies and even some really loud versions of red. Each of the male members wore black ties.

With the female chorus they took on a similar approach except they wore these greens and purples. Oddly enough their attire was more consistent. And as the band played on, the female choruses voices carried from behind the audience gracefully, as they approached the stage.

Once both groups were in position they literally flooded the stage. Some members were lingering along the sides but still enthusiastic. In some ways it reminded me of my old high school choir, except the stage at Lane was definitely more suitable for larger choruses and bands. Whereas in Columbia’s Concert Hall, it didn’t accent these vocalists. Because their voices were far to large to be confined to such a small milieu. If one of the singers did a solo or if the chorus for that matter sung a verse in a high pitch, it sounded almost too loud. Sounds like this could have hit the audience as overbearing or a bit too rambunctious. The guy in front of me shook his head and plugged one of his ears in a disapproving way. Gestures like that can be disputed but, if implied it’s a fairly common gesture, just as laughter. Which also had its roundabout given light snickers when someone stumbled or sounded way out of tone. But for the most part the bulk of the audience was respectful. Because the performances were good both lyrically and vocally. It was just the lack of space for the performers. With a larger room mistakes or the choruses awkward tone could be masked. It would work to their advantage. Plus if they wanted, the band wouldn’t be totally sectioned off and pushed nearly halfway backstage. But either way each musician still played with their hearts. Especially Alex Marianyi on saxophone.

3CVJE on the other hand is another story. When they approached the stage they literally fitted perfectly, having six females (three Sopranos and three Altos) and four males (two Tenors and two Bass). Their clothes were kind of fancy. The men woredblack tuxedos with baby blue ties while the women in front wore these burgundy, champagne blouses. They were all crisp and clean like their sound and even more precise. The band although sometimes overshadowed, they accented 3CVJE. They were cool, all they needed were a few pairs of shades.

Feeling the music really got the performers into the mood and scat singing took center stage. It took normal vocal improvisation to the next level with vocal freestyling. Vocalists mixed random sounds and syllables usually without words and improvised melodies and rhythms so that they could create almost instrumental look-alikes.

All in all 3CVJE and the Jazz Pop Choir as well as the Bands’ performances were quite a sight to see. They’re an adroit band of performers and definitely worth listening to. They’ll be out on the prowl again at both Buddy Guy’s Legends and Spertus Institute with guest star jazz singer Mark Murphy on May 15.