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Nancy and Spencer Reed

This semester, Jazz in the Attic presented Nancy and Spencer Reed who performed on

September 27, 2019 from 7:30p.m. Nancy Reed and Spencer Reed together forma unique brand

of vocal and instrumental styling. They have been performing together for over thirty years. Their

vocal blend, with their tight phrasing, and unusual harmony puts them at the height of great jazz

ensembles of all time. Their jazz beginnings are can be traced back in New York as classical

performances created their desire to create music. In this concert, they graced the audience with a

warm and relaxed moment of music with swinging rhythm. They have selected unique yet

popular tunes and treated them with their renditions of jazz standards.

One of the popular jazz standard that was played was Dave Brubeck’s Take Five. It is a

popular jazz hit, and many musicians try to make it sound as beautiful as possible. Nancy takes

the main theme of the music in her voice. She takes the role of the saxophone in the original

recording of this song. The bass picks the ostinato tune and moves with the voice. The long

improvisatory passage by Spencer brought the uniqueness of their rendition. Besides Take Five,

the duo played Moanin'. The piece begins with an acapella introduction that later gives way for

the chordal accompaniment. The two voices harmonized beautifully to give the music a typical

jazz effect in the melodic section. The guitar improvisation showed the ability pf Spencer and the

bass accompaniment gave the music a sense of harmonic direction and supported the phrasing of

the entire music. Dreamsville was the most exciting piece in the concert as Nancy’s voice was
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beautifully crafted to provide the best scatting of all time during the concert. The tune contained

the authenticity of jazz.

The concert was purely jazz and it was easy to identify the features of jazz that were

present in the recordings. For example, Nancy’s Scat singing as a common feature of jazz in the

era of Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Holiday. The swung eight notes were heard throughout the

concert and defined the style through the numerous instances of syncopation. Improvisation is a

traditional feature of jazz, and has survived through the evolution of the genre. Spencer Reed’s

improvisation on the acoustic guitar is incredibly good and Nancy comfortably provides the

support needed to make him successfully deliver the piece to the audience. The two were able to

capture the audience in a manner that many did not believe they would. The skillful execution of

the duo in the music they played was a great opportunity for many jazz musicians in the audience

and for the students who were eager to speak to them and interact more during the music making

sessions that followed.

The concert was a great opportunity for learning and entertainment. Specifically, the jazz

genre has been a controversial discussion in many instances and the interaction with the genre

indicates the beauty that is embedded and the beautiful history that defines the African American

experience in the United States. The inspiration of jazz gurus and virtuosos, the concert simulated

the position of jazz in the family and society. The most interesting section for me in this concert

was the piece Take Five because they executed it in the most unusual way.