Chief musician Patrick Hawes, impeccably adorned in dress uniform, threw his right hand forcefully down and with it, Cordiner Hall was brought to a fleeting silence before the eruption of a thunderous applause. Hawes nodded, gave a brief thank you, and then returned to his seat to do it all over again. This past Wednesday, Sept. 22, the Northwest Navy Band Cascade performed hits both new and old, and as a result, brought the spirit of big band music to Whitman College.
The band started with a stirring version of the Duke Ellington hit, “Take the A-Train.” They followed with a selection of more contemporary hits, including Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely.”
After this, things started really picking up. Stephanie Brainard, who sang the national anthem to open the concert, took up vocals and performed a string of Johnny Mercer hits, including “I Thought About You” and “Satin Doll.” She did an exquisite job, hearkening back to the styles of the great big band vocalists Peggy Lee and Billie Holiday.
The audience, mostly comprised of community members but dotted with Whitman students, was warmly receptive of Brainard, but had little time to rest before the next song, “Bread and Watrous,” which references the great jazz trombonist Bill Watrous. Rich Hanks, the trombone player in Cascade, channeled Watrous as he performed an impeccable solo, his face turning red while he played.
Another impressive solo came from the drummer during “Sing Sing Sing,” a selection of which was included in a big band medley. The track, usually helmed by the unequaled Gene Krupa, was performed with style and panache–his hands flashing around the drum kit like a force field of energy. He soloed for a good five minutes, including a particularly stirring passage where the rest of the band left the stage, further accentuating his frenetic performance.
“I was blown away by it,” said junior Eric Werner, who attended the performance. “That guy’s got chops.”
The most surprising thing, however, wasn’t the music. It was that the band came here for free.
“They don’t charge anything,” said David Glenn, professor of music and organizer of the event. “It’s taxpayer dollars that pays for it.”
This highlighted the idea that the band is really a service to communities in the United States, which was echoed in Hawes’ assertion that they play around 400 shows a year. Glenn differentiated this event from other shows, however, in that big band stylings are rarely represented at Whitman.
“Usually, it’s impossible to get a big band . . . They cost way too much money,” added Glenn. “It was very effective, and well played.”
