With only one day of rehearsal behind them, the Mason Gross School of the Arts jazz ensemble shined Tuesday night in the Nicholas Music Center on Douglass campus.
In the audience, heads swayed and feet tapped to the upbeat music of the ensemble.
Jazz conductor and singer Frank Sinatra Jr. and his own musicians accompanied the Rutgers Jazz Ensemble.
Ralph Bowen directs the Rutgers Jazz Ensemble, whose most noteworthy achievements include recording and performing with Ray Charles and Benny Carter. It is the top student jazz ensemble at Mason Gross.
Sinatra and the Ensemble played a mix of big band and jazz songs ranging from the early 1900s through the 1970s. "It's great to know someone likes this kind of music," Sinatra joked with the audience.
Among the songs performed were some composed by Duke Ellington, one of the founding fathers of jazz, and others by Nat King Cole, Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra Sr.
"As an old Sinatra fan, this is just wonderful. The quality and sound of the arrangements are impressive with one day of rehearsal. This is far beyond expectation," said Ed Delanoy, a University alumnus, saxophonist and member of the New Jersey Jazz Society. "This has been a great opportunity, and I will certainly be going to more of these events in the future. This was my first time and not my last."
The audience was composed of musicians, jazz enthusiasts, Sinatra fans and curious students.
"I chose to come tonight on a whim, and it has been quite a treat," said Rutgers College sophomore Raymond Chen. "I am really impressed by the jazz ensemble. It has been a new experience for me, and I definitely like it."
Rutgers College sophomore Hinal Patel expressed similar sentiments. "I am really surprised at how much I am enjoying the show," she said. "This is not the kind of music that I would normally listen to."
Before intermission, Michael Katz, vice president of the New Jersey Jazz Society, presented Sinatra with a lifetime achievement award, celebrating his 50 years of conducting, playing and performing jazz. Katz also named him an honorary lifetime member of the society.
During the night, Sinatra also addressed Rutgers' latest controversy involving the women's basketball team and radio show host Don Imus, expressing sympathy. He quoted comedian Morty Storm, who worked with his father, saying, "Listen guys, there ain't gonna be no more white and black. From now on we are gonna all be green."
The songs that received the most audience response were songs made famous by his father, Frank Sinatra Sr.
Sinatra played "I've got the World on a String," "Luck be a Lady Tonight," and a song he describes as "a ballad that swings" that was written for Sinatra, but due to his death, was never performed.
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