Chris Rabel

U101 - Dr. Kelly

11/6/16

Engagement Paper
Lindsay and I were ecstatic when Dr. Kelly granted us an extra week to complete our
on-campus engagement paper. It was a bad decision of us not to do it, but we took advantage of
the extra week to get it done. When we brainstormed ideas of things to go to, she brought up
things like musical plays, museums, jazz concert, etc. But when she suggested a jazz concert, I
had my mind set on that. I had never been to a live jazz performance and had not a clue what it
could possibly be like. I knew that my Dad has always enjoyed going to a bar in my hometown
called Shanghai Jazz. He loves to sit back, relax, and listen to live jazz performances with his girl
friend. This intrigued me to experience one for myself and get involved on-campus in doing so.
It was a free show taking place in The Hootie Johnson Performance Center at the Darla
Moore BA building. Free is always a good thing, and it made the experience a whole lot better.
The time slot was set for 7:30 pm on Thursday the 3rd. Unfortunately I was running late that day,
so I was not able to walk to Darla with Lindsay. She was able to get there a few minutes early
and save me a seat. After making my way to Darla I was actually able to experience the inside of
it for the very first time. Its such an incredible building with unique and complex architecture
throughout the entire building. I was in awe witnessing the beautiful structures. Finally I made it
into the performance center for the free show.

When I walked in, the band had already started its set. I was immediately relaxed by the
slow and steady beat being dished out by Austin Martin on the drums. I found Lindsay and took
my seat. It was such an incredible feeling to finally be able to sit down and relax. I had been
grinding all day, going in and out of the library to finish all of my schoolwork. Sitting down to
enjoy the Park Street Quartets mellow tunes created a major shift of my vibe for the day. To be
completely honest, I had quite a pessimistic approach about the performance before arriving. I
thought to myself, its a free show, it couldnt possibly be entertaining or filled with talent, but I
had never been so wrong. These men (Ivan Covington - trumpet, Nicholas Vlandis - piano,
Austin Martin - drum set, Samuel Edwards - bass) really came to play their hearts out. They were
filled with musical talent and wanting nothing more than to showcase themselves. I believed that
a free show meant limited talent. The Park Street Quartet was just doing what they love to do.
The music was truly beautiful. I admired their ability to switch up the tempo of the song
at any given time. Most of the songs started with a mellow approach and then gradually became
stronger, introducing a new instrument along with the beat. Almost all the songs began with
percussion. Ivan Covington absolutely killed it on the trumpet. He would introduce the trumpet
at some point in the song to give a unique and different sound. He was able to hit notes
throughout the spectrum. I was honestly entertained with performance. I do consider myself to
have a very eclectic taste in music that does revolve highly around hip-hop/rap, but I have
always been fond of the slow rap songs that contain a slow, jazzy beat in the back. Seeing jazz
instruments being played live gave me a whole nother perspective of jazz music itself. It really
made me appreciate the genre much more as a whole.

All in all, it was undeniably a pretty good experience. It was a great idea to get involved
on campus experiencing something that I love which is music. Music has been a big part of my
life since the day I was born. Seeing a live jazz concert really opened my eyes and broadened my
view on the genre. Jazz was introduced by African-Americans in the early 1900s, and it actually
had progressive qualities to it. White people began to make jazzy music after hearing composers
like Louis Armstrong during the Harlem Renaissance. Jazz holds great significance in black
history and it gave an escape to group of oppressed people. Its tunes still live and influence the
music of todays age. It was an enjoyable experience to try something new, something I can
honestly say that would never happen without an assignment like this. Now, I may take
advantage of free concerts like this to see live performances in the future. U101 has taught me
some valuable lessons to get involved on campus. Over the semester we have discussed many
things but one thing that helped me was in the unit for fostering academic success. We learned to
articulate ideas and viewpoints in a written and verbal form through assignments like the
Self-made recommendation letter. Improving these skills really helped me articulate about how I
had an overall great experience at the jazz concert. U101 also encouraged me to leave my
comfort zone and get involved in some way on campus. The Hunger Gamecocks forced us to
learn about things we may of never paid any mind to. It really taught me the importance of
connecting to the advantages and opportunities that we have at The University of South Carolina.
What good is an opportunity if no one took advantage of it? U101 is crucial to encourage
students, especially freshmen, to get up and get involved.