Jazz-y Ensemble is Genius

By: Sarah Hunter, Contributing Writer

On Friday, April 13^,, much like the rest of the population, I was doing my best to avoid any incident of bad luck (crossing my fingers, avoiding black cats, the works). However ominous the day may have seemed though, I found myself having a stroke of good fortune as I attended the Grace Kelly & Phil Woods jazz concert.

In all honesty, I have never heard of Grace Kelly or Phil Woods until now, and quite frankly, I know that’s enough to make some feel physically ill. Having said this, however, I can now confidently say that I know who they are and love what they do.

Grace Kelly is a 19-year-old saxophonist, vocalist, composer, lyricist, and arranger. In other words, she’d give Wonder Woman a run for her money. Phil Woods, her counterpart, is a long time famous saxophonist and composer. Since both are such exquisite musicians, it came as no surprise that their music was magical.  However, since Grace Kelly is the same age as I am, I found myself instantly drawn to her story and music as the night went on.

As soon as Kelly stepped onto the stage, her presence was hard to ignore as she wore a flamboyant sequined blue top, gem studded black pants, and a pair of funky, silver wedge-heeled sneakers. The first thing that any of us heard all night was her soft voice thanking us for coming to the show. What happened next, however, left me in awe.

Right off the bat, her music gave me chills. Not only was the music fantastic, but seeing someone so passionate about what she does is truly beautiful. The energy that the band gave off was nothing short of pure love for what they were doing, and it was incredible that they could create sounds so sweet to the ears. In addition to the instrumental music being played, the vocal portion of the show was what I loved the most. As Grace Kelly sang the song “People Time,” I couldn’t help but love her voice; it was smooth as syrup, soft and soothing to the soul.

Charlie Bryant, tenor sax player for Bloom, couldn’t have said it better when he proclaimed that “the show went great, and [he] looks forward to listening to [the band] again,” a statement that I couldn’t agree with more.