Inside Yale law School’s auditorium Sunday, tribute was paid to the dead not with a metal plaque or a lecture. But with living improvisation.
The occasion was the ninth annual Stan Wheeler Memorial Jazz Concert. It’s named after a Yale law professor who besides doing cutting-edge legal research spent 30 years playing trumpet with the Yale Jazz Ensemble.
His old ensemble mates figured the best way to pay tribute to Wheeler was to play, and keep improvising on, the music they shared, under the name of “Reunion Jazz Ensemble.” Hence the annual concert, which as usual drew quite a crowd.
At one point the ensemble fired up a new, jazz take on Chopin’s “Nocturne.” Click on the video to see and hear the ensemble dive into the arrangement by bassist Jeff Fuller, with Steve Perrett taking the lead on trumpet and giving the piece anew swing incarnation. Another fitting tribute.
Joining Perrett and Fuller in the ensemble were alto saxophonist Bob Kolb, tenor saxophonist Kris Jensen, baritone sax master Tim Moran, pianist Paul Sullivan, guitarist Tony Lombardozzi on guitar, and Bob D’Angelo on drums.
They promised to return for a bigger bash next year for a 10th anniversary concert, keeping their living tribute going.