Jazz Quartet MFUO Kickstarts SMC Friday Night Jazz Series

Santa Monica College presented on September 24, a showcase of Jazz with presenters MFUO at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center.

Jacques Lesure focuses entirely upon his guitar at MFUO's first post-pandemic jazz concert at the SMC Performing Arts Center in Santa Monica, Calif. on Friday, September 24, 2021. After nearly two years, MFUO's jazz quartet is among one of the first jazz concerts to take place at SMC's Performing Arts Center. (Marc Federici | The Corsair)

Jazz Quartet MFUO opens SMC’S Friday Night Jazz Series season. The jazz concert was the inaugural performance of the fall 2021 semester, due to the COVID-19 pandemic halting the last season of concerts. On September 24 the group MFUO performed at the SMC Performing Arts Center. SMC Jazz Band Professor F. K. Fiddmont has managed the Friday Night Jazz series since 2007, succeeding Alvin Lyles, a former Professor at SMC, who taught Jazz History for 29 years.

Christian Moraga performs on his percussion instruments at MFUO's first post-pandemic jazz concert at the SMC Performing Arts Center in Santa Monica, Calif. on Friday, September 24, 2021. After nearly two years, MFUO's jazz quartet is among one of the first jazz concerts to take place at SMC's Performing Arts Center. (Marc Federici | The Corsair)

MFUO includes four legendary musicians - guitarist Jacques Lesure, organist Pete Kuzma, percussionist Christian Moraga, and drummer Marvin ‘’Smitty’’ Smith - who together form the dulcet and harmonious sounds of contemporary jazz. Guitarist Jacques Lesure said MFUO is “a Swahili word that means group.’’

On March 2020, just two days before Santa Monica was placed on lockdown, drummer Smitty was slated to perform at SMC with a ten piece band. After receiving a call from Professor Fiddmont, the show was cancelled. A year in a half later, Professor Fiddmont calls Smitty to discuss the possibility to performed with a smaller group and MFUO is then the quartet to kick start the concert series. Smitty said, "it's nice to just come in and restart things."

Keeping a distance of 6 feet from one another, a diverse group of jazz aficionados chatted amongst themselves waiting for the concert to begin. With no elevated stage, audience members sat at round tables and the venue’s atmosphere felt like an old school nightclub. Organ player Pete Kuzma mingled with guests while Smithy and Jacques watched over the audience. Professor F. K. Fiddmont shared his thoughts before the show. He said, “It's an opportunity for students to experience live jazz, something they certainly haven't had the opportunity to do during COVID.”

The instrumentation of MFUO is a classical quartet - percussion, organ, electric guitar, and drums - but its mix of genres range from Latin fusion to Rock and Roll. The session featured renditions of “War Pigs” (composed by Black Sabbath) and “Boogie Woogie Bossa Nova” (composed by Eddie Harris), bringing together generations of diverse musicians.

The first track, “Unit Seven '' (composed by Sam Jones), began with the quartets' percussion, organ and electric guitar intertwining to the tempo of Smithy’s drums, giving the audience a beat to follow. Guitarist Jacques Lesure said performing is “one of the best things ever, because now I'm releasing myself to something that's greater than me in order to get to something that can be given to someone else as a gift, as the gift flows through me.”

Marvin "Smitty" Smith sweats after an intensive drum performance at MFUO's first post-pandemic jazz concert at the SMC Performing Arts Center in Santa Monica, Calif. on Friday, September 24, 2021. After nearly two years, MFUO's jazz quartet is among one of the first jazz concerts to take place at SMC's Performing Arts Center. (Marc Federici | The Corsair)

The band features Chilean percussionist Christian Moraga - band leader of the group “ConGanas” - who opens the third song, “Una Mas” with high energy expressivity aided by Jacques shifting cords and Kuzmas harmonizing keys.

MFUO closed the session by performing a jazz rendition of “War Pigs” by rock band Black Sabbath, making a strong manifesto of the current political climate. Professor F. K. Fiddmont said, “[we] hope to inspire people to feel something, to feel joy, to feel whatever we're trying to communicate, would be pain or happiness, is the wish.”