Photo by Will Nacouzi / The Skyline View

Alexander Rosales plays the bass during the Skyline College Jazz band’s performance of Quincy Jones’ arrangement of “Killer Joe”.

Brass cannons and Michael Jackson tunes blew out a mostly packed house in a night of quintessential American music at Skyline College Theater on Mar. 14.

Admission was delightfully free to the two hour concert featuring three bands.

Prior to the concert, history professor Rosemary Bell spoke to the audience of the extreme trials of being a soldier in the Civil War. She explained the mortality of the wounds and showed the tools of a Civil War medic, which was basically a bone saw, some knives and forceps and gauze.

She discussed the battle of Gettysburg, which lasted three days and took 50,000 American casualties from either side.

The Skyline College Concert Band performed 6 pieces with an interesting program which explained the progress of the battle of Gettysburg. “The Old Warrior March” made for an energetic and bombastic introduction to the setting of the Civil War just before the battle.

The band played without string instruments; the brass and woodwinds cast out fierce war chants that perfectly portrayed the calamity of the battle. Following this composition was the strangely familiar symphonic arrangement of the folk song, “Shenandoah”. These soothing reveries referred to the Confederate army crossing the Shenandoah Valley toward the crucial battle.

“High Water Mark: The Third Day” was the highlight of the night. This tone poem illustrated the early morning of July 3, 1863 when the final day of battle began. The music started quietly, as the soldiers woke early in the day.

The tension drummed up and two very distinct cannon blasts were created by the band. Charging into battle, the woodwind infantry attacked with flourishes of notes as the horn section encouraged the carnage. The piece concluded with a triumphant return to the opening theme which signaled the Northern victory.

The theme to the 1993 film, “Gettysburg”, was accompanied by a video projected on the screen which added context to the compositions of the night.

Following this visual piece was “To Heal A Nation”, which entertained with flute solos and bugle calls. The piece slowed down with a clarinet solo by Becky Christ which instilled a somber connotation in reflection of the battle. A slim but tall man named Alexander Rosales walked out onto stage and delivered the Gettysburg Address given by Lincoln in a surprisingly deep voice.

“That was the first time I’ve spoken in front of a band,” Rosales said. “I guess it’s not the last time because I’ll be one of the leading roles in the upcoming production of Guys and Dolls.”

Guys and Dolls will debut Apr. 20 at Skyline College. Tickets will be $5 dollars online.

The concert band concluded with “Dixieland Rag”, a refreshing and light swing number that got toes tapping.

“We had a lot of references from battle tunes from the North. It was about including some Southern perspective,” Conductor and professor Zachary Bruno said.

A short intermission marked the beginning of the Skyline College Jazz Band’s presentation of “The Quintessence”. This production was in celebration of composer Quincy Jones’ 80th birthday on Mar. 14. His work should be familiar to anyone who doesn’t live under a rock in a foreign country.

He has composed many extremely popular pieces, including the theme from “Sanford and Son” and “Soul Bossa Nova”, which many of us would recognize as the introductory song to “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery”.

These tunes meshed rock and funk with pop and jazz influences, including a piece collaborated with Count Basie. The first song was the theme from “Sanford and Son,” which was lovely and nostalgic. I was surprised and pleased by the addition of an accordion in all of these Quincy Jones-themed pieces.

The next piece, “Moanin’,” was hard not to dance to. Bruno didn’t need to conduct during these pieces because of the drummer keeping time, and he ended up dancing onstage a little while moving a microphone to highlight solos.

“Hard Sock Dance” was a fun swing number featuring many solos, including a piano solo by Daniel Tauffer, a wonderful accordion solo by Don Nurisso and finally a guitar solo picked out skillfully by Matt Henderson.

The Skyline College Jazz Quintet, featuring five improvisational soloists from the jazz band, performed “Killer Joe”. This classic was made famous in Quincy Jones’ album “Walking in Space”. This version was filled with solos to the point where the theme seemed to get lost. It felt like they were playing a new song, which is both good and unfortunate.

Vincent Dicran Iannone held on to the original feel of the song by repeating chords that resembled the chorus, “cool Joe, mean Joe”. Each solo was quite impressive considering they were played off the cuff.

The full Jazz Band finished the night with three songs made popular by Micheal Jackson. “Rock with You,” “Man in the Mirror” and “Thriller” got the audience hooting and hollering (two students yelled “Encore!”) These platinum hits were produced by Quincy Jones; he also wrote many of the horn lines for the pop songs.

“I’ve never really played Micheal Jackson. [Jones] was important in incorporating horn lines in pop and rock,” clarinet, alto sax and flutist Becky Christ said. Her daughter, Stella Christ, also plays trumpet for the Jazz band.

Adding to the variety with the last song, “Soul Bossa Nova” ended the night with a high-five count that got listeners smiling.

“[Quincy Jones] is so versatile. He embodies the American art form. He collaborated on rock pieces, jazz pieces, pop and funk,” Bruno said.