On Sept. 22, Moorpark College’s Jazz Big Band, led by music professor Brendan McMullin, performed and opened for Boyd Cannon’s Big Band at Bar Louie in Westlake Village. They entertained the audience with their many brass instruments.
Divided into two bands, the Jazz A band and B band, Moorpark College students performed many songs and solos of different arrangements, including the well-known “Fantasy” by Earth, Wind & Fire.
One solo in particular featured Ariel Hoffman, a first-year student at Moorpark College. His alto saxophone solo wowed the crowd, who thanked him with a long applause.
Hoffman explained how he began his Moorpark College career by joining the jazz band and how that experience has been.
“On the first day, I already made a group of two to three friends that I had never met before, and it’s really all about the fun, less about how good someone is and more about how they’ve improved over time,” Hoffman beamed.
Additionally, Hoffman explained what type of specific music the students play at rehearsals and at home for the band.
“We try and cover every genre of jazz, and a big part of that is bebop and swing but the main thing we try and cover is the jazz standards, which are the classics of jazz and even then, there are still so many different ways to play the classics that we cover,” Hoffman said.
The leader who brings this all together is Moorpark College professor Brendan McMullin, who teaches the online music appreciation class and is the director of both the jazz and wind ensembles. He has worked at Moorpark College since the spring of 2008 but has been playing jazz music since middle school.
“We perform a lot,” said McMullin. “I find that it’s a way to keep the students invested in it, and we did it so early in the semester, but it turned out great.”
McMullin offered insight into how students can learn more about these jazz performances that are open to the public.
“Every semester, we do our performance at the performing arts center on campus, which will be on November 2, 2024, and you can find information and tickets on the Performing Arts Center main website page,” McMullin stated.
The final band of the night was the Boyd Cannon Big Band, led by Boyd Cannon. During his performance, Cannon revealed he was a Moorpark College alumni and part of creating the first Moorpark College jazz band.
Boyd Cannon, Class of 1970, got together with other students he knew and complained to the director about the college’s lack of a jazz band. After some convincing, the director helped form the college’s first jazz band.
“I went to Orbie Ingersoll and bugged him about how we didn’t have a jazz band, and so he put one together,” recalled Cannon.
Ingersol, a professor in the department of music at Moorpark College, aided Boyd Cannon in forming the college’s excellent jazz band, which continues to perform under McMullin.
Cannon commented on what students should do if they are interested in music or jazz and want to continue it as a career.
“You should get together with a good professor. Someone who knows theory or jazz theory, you gotta listen to good jazz players, like Charlie Parker [and] Bud Powell and just give it a shot,” Cannon said.
In the middle of their set, Cannon called McMullin to lead them in a song for the first time playing all together since 2007. McMullin then handed his sheets to the band and led them in playing a version of “Dream of the Return” by Bob Curnow’s LA Big Band.
After showing the crowd his conducting and directing skills, McMullin played the solo for the crowd and for his excited students.
Although both the Moorpark Jazz A and B band only had three rehearsals on campus together prior to the performance, they still managed to play loud and exciting jazz that greatly entertained the lively audience in Bar Louie.
For more information about jazz performances and other student performances, visit the Moorpark College Performing Arts Center webpage.
