The De Anza Jazz Band, alongside Vocal Flight a capella, Los Panchos ensemble and Cesar Chavez Ravenswood Middle School Jazz band ensemble, came together for a 2000s- and 2010s-inspired performance at the Visual and Performing Arts Center on March 14.
The final performance to conclude the winter quarter featured an array of soundtracks from movies and video games that defined the 2000’s and onward for many of the performers. “I believe this was the best performance we’ve had since we’ve been in the ensemble for the past 3 years,” Jordan D. Mitchell, De Anza jazz director and conductor for this concert, said.
Performers cosplayed as they performed in front of a screen displaying clips from video games and movies of the era.
“It was really fun, especially since it was video game and anime music,” Jurrell Hernandez, 19, business major who played saxophone, said. “It was a lot of the band’s interests.”
To start the night, Vocal Flight a cappella opened the performance, singing songs from featured Disney films “Pinocchio” and “The Princess and the Frog”. Finishing off the trio of songs with a medley inspired by Minecraft.
This was followed by a performance from the Los Panchos ensemble, who would perform a pair of Spanish songs. The Mariachi performance featured songs “Besame Mucho” from Chico and Rita, as well as “Solamente Una Vez” from The Three Caballeros.
These performances would set the stage for the De Anza Jazz ensemble, which would perform the seven-song setlist.
To start, a rendition of “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” from the anime “Neon Genesis Evangelion” was performed. This song was the favorite of the night for alto saxophone member Michael Lezama Munoz, 25, business administration major, who said that it was his favorite anime.
Other anime-related songs performed were both from Studio Ghibli films. “Merry-Go-Round of Life” from “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “Ponyo, Cliff on The Sea” from “Ponyo”.
The “Ponyo” rendition was the favorite of the bunch for Mitchell, who added his own twists to the original song. “Samba, reggae, Brazilian instruments, Mexican instruments. We added a lot of what I thought sounded great, and it worked,” Mitchell said.
Other songs inspired by cartoons performed were “Mas Que Nada” from the movie “Rio”, and the “Fairly Odd Parents Theme” from “Fairly Odd Parents”.
“The Fairly Odd Parents Theme” specifically featured members from the CCRMS, who are the middle school students of Mitchell. When asked how the collaboration process went, he said it’s all the same business.
“Middle schoolers and college students aren’t that much different,” Mitchell said. “There’s the silliness, comedy, and community. It all meshes well within itself.”
The other variety of songs performed was all video game-based, which started with “Snake Eater” from the Metal Gear Solid game series, and “Gerudo Valley” from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Schiera (Shai) Ventura, 19, studio arts major, who played upright bass, dressed as Snake, the lead character in “Metal Gear Solid”, said this was her favorite song, with Ponyo as a strong second.
“Ponyo stuck out because it was the song I had a solo, but Snake Eater…obvious choice,” Ventura said.
The final song of the night was a composition created by piano and trumpet player VJ Lukka, 19, business major, titled “Smash Cart,” a mash-up of the theme songs for Mario Kart and Super Smash bros. This featured live gameplay of Mario Kart on the projector above from two random members of the audience.
“I was stoked about it. My process was easy because the source material was so dense,” Lukka said. “The creative process was just me listening to the songs, picking the parts I liked, then putting them together to see what comes out.”
This performance will be the last from the De Anza Jazz ensemble until the next fall quarter, as the band buckles down and continues its process of creating a jazz album.
“It is a mixture of all things my students love. It’s a mixture of Bolero music, funk and jazz,” Mitchell said. “It’s a showcase of what we’ve done these last 3 years.”
