By Daniel Buckwalter
(#CommonManAtTheSymphony)

It was the final concert of the subscription season and, of course, Francesco Lecce-Chong’s final night on the podium at the Hult Center as artistic director of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra.

It was, in short, a night made to order for a rambunctious party, and the Symphony — with glorious help from jazz pianist Darrell Grant and the 14-member Pacific Northwest Jazz All-Stars — delivered with style to a full house on May 22 in the Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall.

Wynton Marsalis’ 75-minute and seven-movement Swing Symphony, with no intermission, was the only piece of work performed on this Thursday night, and it was the only piece of music that was needed.

Swing Symphony is a pure and joyful romp through the evolution of what is uniquely U.S. music — from the birth of swing and the big band era, bebop and cool jazz, hard bop and soul jazz, free jazz and avant-garde exploration, ending with modern jazz.

Heads were bobbing on stage. Heads were bobbing in the audience. There was loud applause throughout the piece (Western classical music niceties took a back seat on this night.)

It was what Lecce-Chong promised it would be before the music was played — “a celebration of humanity.”

Leading the way was Grant, a maestro jazz pianist based in Portland. He was commanding, and I couldn’t wait to hear his turns as the soloist.

Then again, all the members of the Northwest Jazz All-Stars had their turns as soloists, and they were forceful and wonderful to listen to. So much so, in fact, that I have to list them all:

  • Alto sax — Nicole McCabe and Idit Shner
  • Tenor sax — Nicole Glover and Joe Manis
  • Baritone sax — Owen Broder
  • Trumpet — Noah Simpson, Justin Copeland, Thomas Barber, and Pablo Rivarola
  • Trombone — Lars Campbell, Beserat Tafesse, and Jerome Smith
  • Bass — Garrett Baxter (extraordinary in his solo turn)
  • Percussion — Domo Branch

It was a fun way to end the season and to end Lecce-Chong’s formal tenure with Eugene Symphony Orchestra — wishing the best of everything to him, and looking forward to new artistic director Alex Prior’s arrival in the fall.