Jeremy Peng

Organist Brian Ho responds to saxophonist Aaron Lington’s improvisation during a performance of Lington’s original tune “Nostalgic.” “It really is like a musical conversation,” Ho said. “We feel each other out and take turns to listen to each other.”

Before one note fades, the next bursts forth, each as unexpected as the last. The guitarist grins, his fingers dancing across the strings as the organist cushions their cutting richness with a flurry of velvety harmonies. Even the drummer cannot help but smile through closed eyes at this melodious revelry. Thus, the Aaron Lington organ quartet closed the 2023-2024 season of the Harker Concert Series, and footage of the night has been published on Harker’s YouTube.

Grammy-winning saxophonist Aaron Lington performed a jazz concert with guitarist Bruce Forman, organist Brian Ho and drummer Jason Lewis for the Harker Concert Series in the Patil Theater on Feb. 9. Tickets were free for Harker students, $25 for adults and $15 for youth and seniors.

Before the concert, the quartet hosted a masterclass for jazz band students, where they critiqued each other’s performances. Jazz band teacher Jaco Wong invited Lington, whom he had studied under at San Jose State University.

“The idea of the concert series is to bring really top-notch musicians who play at a level to inspire the students, in addition to being teachers and coaches like myself,” Wong said. “In this case, Lington is not only a great player, but he’s also a good educator, so I knew that he would interact with our students very well.”

As well as preparing for their performance at the Essentially Ellington Regional High School Jazz Band Festival on Feb. 18, students also sought individual advice from members of the quartet during the masterclass. Jazz band guitarist Yinan Zhou (11), who asked guitarist Bruce Forman about choosing chords and amplifiers, highlighted Forman as the concert’s main appeal.

“Just being able to see a jazz quartet in person is definitely a very valuable experience,” Yinan said. “And as a guitarist, I’m really looking forward to this one in particular because it’s one of the only jazz concerts I’ve been to with a guitar player.”

This concert marks the first time all four musicians played together. Organist Brian Ho reflected on the rich interplay of the quartet’s musical interactions. 

“I want people to see the joy and the interplay that we have,” Ho said. “Being this kind of configuration, it’s only four of us, but it feels like a big wall of sound. And that’s increased by the wide variety of music we play.”

Throughout the concert, the quartet played a motley of pieces, from jazz standards like “Alone Together” by Arthur Schwartz to a reharmonization of Burt Bacharach’s “The Look of Love” to Lington’s original tune, “Nostalgic.” The variable element of live jazz, emphasizing listening, being in the moment, and improvising, attracted musicians of other genres to the concert, like orchestra member Aashvi Ravi (10).

“Jazz itself is really interesting because there’s a lot of improv involved,” Aashvi said. “I guess I just want to learn more about the genre and how it’s creative since most of what the orchestra plays is classical music.”

The improvisational style of jazz was also a key feature of the performance, the interplay between the various instruments organically building upon one another to bring liveliness to the stage. Drummer Jason Lewis explained that spontaneity in jazz rests on common understanding amongst the musicians.

“We all have the same understanding of the rules of jazz, so we’ll have that as a starting point,” Lewis said. “But you never know what’s going to happen beyond that, which is why I always look forward to making music with these people whom I enjoy personally and musically.