Jessilyn​ ​Ring

History​ ​of​ ​Jazz

Emmett​ ​Goods
Concert​ ​Review

This​ ​semester​ ​I​ ​went​ ​to​ ​see​ ​the​ ​Queensboro​ ​Hustlers​ ​play​ ​at​ ​Rusty’s​ ​in​ ​Middletown,​ ​RI.

They​ ​are​ ​a​ ​jazz/blues/funk​ ​fusion​ ​group,​ ​but​ ​most​ ​of​ ​their​ ​music​ ​that​ ​they​ ​played​ ​were​ ​blues

standards​ ​with​ ​a​ ​funk​ ​twist.​ ​I​ ​choose​ ​to​ ​go​ ​see​ ​them​ ​because​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​band​ ​members​ ​was​ ​my

high​ ​school​ ​Latin​ ​teacher​ ​and​ ​I​ ​used​ ​to​ ​guest-sing​ ​in​ ​a​ ​rock​ ​standard​ ​band​ ​with​ ​him​ ​in​ ​high

school.​ ​He​ ​has​ ​two​ ​bands,​ ​the​ ​above-mentioned​ ​Queensboro​ ​Hustlers​ ​and​ ​a​ ​group​ ​called​ ​Stella

Knows​ ​Blues.​ ​The​ ​group​ ​consists​ ​of​ ​4​ ​people.​ ​The​ ​instruments​ ​played​ ​are​ ​saxophone,​ ​drums,

lead​ ​guitar/vocals,​ ​and​ ​bass.​ ​They​ ​played​ ​some​ ​recognizable​ ​songs,​ ​like​ ​"I​ ​Feel​ ​Good"​ ​and

"Hoochie​ ​Coochie​ ​Man",​ ​but​ ​there​ ​was​ ​some​ ​amazing​ ​improvisation​ ​that​ ​happened,​ ​mostly​ ​by

the​ ​saxophonist.​ ​He​ ​played​ ​with​ ​such​ ​soul​ ​and​ ​nimbleness,​ ​so​ ​he​ ​was​ ​truly​ ​a​ ​joy​ ​to​ ​listen​ ​to.​ ​The

bassist​ ​and​ ​drums​ ​also​ ​had​ ​solos,​ ​although​ ​shorter​ ​and​ ​less​ ​intricate,​ ​but​ ​they​ ​were​ ​still

interesting​ ​to​ ​listen​ ​to.​ ​I​ ​would​ ​say​ ​that​ ​their​ ​overall​ ​sound​ ​was​ ​more​ ​modern-sounding​ ​jazz,​ ​but

it​ ​was​ ​obvious​ ​that​ ​they​ ​were​ ​familiar​ ​with​ ​the​ ​roots​ ​of​ ​the​ ​genre.​ ​The​ ​group​ ​had​ ​great​ ​chemistry

and​ ​improvised​ ​really​ ​well​ ​together,​ ​so​ ​it​ ​was​ ​obvious​ ​that​ ​they​ ​enjoy​ ​playing​ ​music​ ​with​ ​one

another.​ ​I​ ​personally​ ​loved​ ​"Hoochie​ ​Coochie​ ​Man",​ ​as​ ​it​ ​was​ ​very​ ​bluesy​ ​and​ ​the​ ​singer​ ​had

great,​ ​husky​ ​voice.​ ​I​ ​noticed​ ​some​ ​call-and-response​ ​in​ ​the​ ​improvisation,​ ​especially​ ​between​ ​the

saxophone​ ​and​ ​bass.​ ​I​ ​also​ ​recognized​ ​"Got​ ​My​ ​Mojo​ ​Workin'"​ ​from​ ​class​ ​and​ ​that​ ​had​ ​a​ ​vocal

call-and-response.​ ​"Got​ ​My​ ​Mojo​ ​Workin'"​ ​was​ ​my​ ​favorite​ ​of​ ​the​ ​whole​ ​night,​ ​because​ ​of​ ​its

upbeat​ ​tempo​ ​and​ ​simple​ ​nature.​ ​It​ ​was​ ​just​ ​fun​ ​and​ ​I​ ​could​ ​tell​ ​that​ ​the​ ​ensemble​ ​enjoyed

playing​ ​it.​ ​I​ ​thought​ ​it​ ​was​ ​interesting​ ​that​ ​the​ ​ensemble​ ​played​ ​two​ ​Muddy​ ​Waters​ ​songs,​ ​and​ ​I
thought​ ​that​ ​that​ ​spoke​ ​to​ ​their​ ​taste​ ​and​ ​preference​ ​of​ ​music.​ ​The​ ​Hustlers​ ​put​ ​their​ ​own​ ​spin​ ​on

a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​the​ ​music​ ​that​ ​they​ ​played,​ ​such​ ​as​ ​putting​ ​in​ ​time​ ​in​ ​the​ ​songs​ ​for​ ​improvisation​ ​and

solos​ ​for​ ​all​ ​the​ ​players.​ ​They​ ​were​ ​very​ ​obviously​ ​genuinely​ ​connected​ ​to​ ​their​ ​music​ ​and​ ​loved

what​ ​they​ ​did.​ ​I​ ​could​ ​see​ ​the​ ​look​ ​on​ ​everyone's​ ​faces​ ​after​ ​they​ ​finished​ ​a​ ​song​ ​and​ ​it​ ​was​ ​clear

that​ ​they​ ​were​ ​having​ ​the​ ​best​ ​time.​ ​As​ ​a​ ​performer​ ​myself,​ ​I​ ​love​ ​when​ ​the​ ​entire​ ​performance

space​ ​can​ ​feel​ ​the​ ​energy​ ​of​ ​the​ ​entertainers​ ​and​ ​when​ ​emotion​ ​is​ ​palpable​ ​between​ ​everyone

who​ ​is​ ​present.​ ​I​ ​do​ ​not​ ​believe​ ​that​ ​the​ ​group​ ​played​ ​any​ ​original​ ​pieces,​ ​but​ ​they​ ​did​ ​add​ ​their

own​ ​improvisations​ ​into​ ​some​ ​jazz​ ​and​ ​blues​ ​standards.​ ​They​ ​also​ ​played​ ​some​ ​blues​ ​rock,​ ​like

covers​ ​of​ ​Stevie​ ​Ray​ ​Vaughan​ ​songs,​ ​such​ ​as​ ​"Leave​ ​My​ ​Little​ ​Girl​ ​Alone".​ ​Overall,​ ​the​ ​band

sounded​ ​very​ ​clean​ ​and​ ​crisp.​ ​The​ ​music​ ​was​ ​obviously​ ​well-known​ ​to​ ​them,​ ​the​ ​transitions

between​ ​songs​ ​were​ ​smooth​ ​and​ ​everything​ ​flowed​ ​together​ ​really​ ​well,​ ​even​ ​when​ ​the​ ​songs

were​ ​very​ ​different​ ​sounding.​ ​I​ ​really​ ​enjoyed​ ​that​ ​they​ ​played​ ​all​ ​different​ ​types​ ​of​ ​jazz​ ​music,

like​ ​blues​ ​and​ ​funk,​ ​because​ ​it​ ​showed​ ​the​ ​true​ ​versatile​ ​nature​ ​of​ ​the​ ​genre.