Pete Robbins ’97 returned to Andover with the sweet sound of his alto saxophone at last Friday’s Guest Jazz Concert.
Accompanied by Carlos Homs on piano, Aryeh Kobrinsky on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums, Robbins started off the night with Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman.”
The piece consisted of a large range of bright tones on the saxophone, as Robbins tapped his foot to the drumbeat and the piano provided a cheerful accompaniment with major chords and scales.
The bass created a low and steady foundation for the melody, and all the musicians seemed to channel their emotions through their fingers into the piece, with their brows furrowed and bodies moving along to the rhythm.
The crowded audience, filling up both floors of Timken, went wild for the jazz tune and applauded enthusiastically numerous times during the piece.
After the opening piece, the group performed several original compositions that featured syncopated beats on the drums, repetition of the main melody on the saxophone, dramatic dynamics and solos for each of the instruments.
Various accelerandos, chromatic scales and crescendos, mixed with decrescendos and unconventional chords, provided a distinctive twist to the jazz pieces.
Jerry Li ’14 said, “I think the pieces were very interesting, their dynamics and the way they incorporated all four instruments. I was really interested with the skills of the musicians and their improvisation. I had never seen a bassist’s fingers move that quickly.”
Robbins mentioned that this performance was in celebration of his new CD “Transatlantic Quartet – Live in Basel,” which will be released on February 14, 2012.
He said that for this concert the group was improvising and experimenting with new songs to prepare for his next CD.
Stacy Ramos ’14 said, “They were all extremely talented, and it was interesting to hear because I had never quite heard anything like it before. The music they were playing was not traditional jazz; it was very experimental.”
After a short intermission, the group performed an original song “Pyramid,” the only piece in the concert that did not feature the saxophone.
The quartet also played adaptations of Leonard Cohen’s songs, in which a strong, intricate mix of notes made up the complex and well-developed pieces.
One of these pieces also featured a sophisticated drum solo with unique sounds that amazed the audience, who applauded profusely.
Marga Kempner ’12 said, “I really liked the adaptations of Leonard Cohen’s pieces, and I’m glad I came.”
For their next piece, the group adapted a song by the Dirty Projectors.
The soothing, soft notes of the piano echoed in along the wooden floor and smoothly escalated into an upbeat piece, “Two Doves.”
“Eliotsong,” a composition from Robbin’s new CD, brought the night to a close.
The piece, written for a friend, was filled with flowing notes and a grand and demanding saxophone melody that drew a deafening standing ovation from the audience.
Overall, the Guest Jazz Concert was an upbeat experience for both Robbins and the audience members, which included several students as well as friends and family of Robbins.
Robbins said, “I thought [the concert] went great. It is great to come back and perform because it feels like a homecoming. All my friends, family and old professors come out.”
Robbins was involved with music while at Andover, and he said, “The main project I was in was the seminal hippie rock band with two of my friends where we smoked everyone in the Battle of the Bands in 1996.”