Killing it with those socks

Every Wednesday, the Music Performance Program celebrates dedicated and committed students with an hour long concert every Wednesday in the faculty house. Jazz enthusiast Amara Banks stopped by yesterday to check it out.

My love for live jazz cannot be shaken by pre-hurricane winds or unforgiving cold (yes, 50 degrees still reminds me of the Grinch’s icy heart), so I happily walked an inconvenient distance to East Campus. Given the talent found within the Columbia community, I am not surprised with how worthwhile this walk ended up being.

This week, I had the treat of hearing Evan Tarrh and and Jack Aylor. The two performed piano and bass duets, with occasional solos from Evan. When I arrived, I noticed that Evan’s feet were clothed in socks that also had pianos on them– the ultimate sign that the show was going to be great. And of course, I wasn’t wrong. The sounds were reminiscent of Blue’s Clues instrumentals, or a Saturday in Nordstrom when they hire a live pianist. Although the audience was rather anemic, (ten people was likely the peak of their crowd) those who attended enjoyed their performance. Their music triggered different emotions that, when coupled with the rain outside, could make one feel as if he were in a Drake video. But not just any kind of Drake video: when Evan and Jack played piano-bass duets, audience members were in a Headlines-Tuesday kind of video, or maybe even his HYFR bat mitzvah. But as soon as Jack rested his fingers from plucking the strings, we were at an intersection of Marvin’s Room and an interlude for a girl with a big booty, like Cece or Bria. Nonetheless, the two artists are amazingly talented, as demonstrated by how influential their music was on my mood. I left the showcase feeling empowered, reflective, and like I wanted to text my ex.