I was in Opus around 7 p.m. on Monday night, studying in one of the armchairs against the wall of windows when Doc Woods came up to me and another student and asked us for a favor. He asked us to move all the chairs in that area of the cafe, so that he could set up the stage for his concert. The concert he was referring to was the one that the Hamilton College Department of Music hosted along with Doc Woods and Greg Lutz, tenor sax, for an evening of original music composed by Doc.
Being at the event early, I was able to watch the band finish setting up and tune for the evening, and watch a number of students trickle in to do work. The band turned Opus into an awesome and cozy, venue. The audience consisted of a combination of students and members of the community who came to support Doc and the Music Department; it seemed that many of the students came to Opus to work and just have jazz happen around them.
Before the band started their set, Doc asked the audience to take a moment of silence out of respect for those who lost their lives in Las Vegas this week. The jazz concert composed by Doc, was therefore a wonderful way to escape that harsh reality. Before each of his songs, Doc gave a brief idea of what each one means to him. He began the set with his original song, “Write on! Read,” which he believes represents the payoff of hard work and determination.
Many of his songs, including this one, are perfect for showcasing the talents of the saxophonist. Other members of the band included Jeff Stockham (trumpet), Joe Handy (guitar), Tom Witkowski (piano and keyboard), and Rick Compton (drums). The band had a great dynamic between songs and during the introduction of band members, that carried over to the music and made for a very cohesive set.
The next song on the set list was “Not Tuh Day,” which Doc likes to think about when he slaps negativity away and exclaims “Not Tuh Day!” The song builds happily with awesome trumpet and saxophone solos that push the negative energy away. For me, the way Doc derives so much meaning from his songs is interesting; each song is clearly so full emotion, but learning where he places that emotional experience in relation to the song and the title of the song is incredible.
The third song of the performance, “Get Off yer But,” urges people to stop making excuses. Every song that Doc composed and selected for the event had messages similar to these, and a lot of them are extremely pertinent to the stresses that students, and others, go through on a daily basis. Hopefully, those doing work in Opus at the time were able to look up and appreciate what was going on around them.
The show culminated with the song “Lutz Get It On!” which is referring to the featured saxophonist, Greg Lutz. Apparently Doc workshopped a lot of puns before settling on this nime, including “Being Gregarious” and “What are you, Lutz?” The saxophone solo in this song was extensive and showed a full range of ability by Lutz. Overall, the performance elicited a full range of emotions that made for an exciting night in Opus.
