Jazz Appreciation “It’s like an act of murder, you play with intent to commit something,” Duke Elington. Never hold back seemed to be the life style of jazz. To create, innovate, and express to the fullest extent, with no remorse. During this past the semester, I attended two performances; the first concert I attended was on April 9, at Moody’s Bistro, located in Truckee California. The trio calls themselves Fiscus. The second concert was the Mike Raynor Group at the Inn at Morro Bay, on May 7. The venues themselves were very similar in many aspects but also very different, this also fit the mood and style of the actual jazz played, the two groups were very similar but at the same time their were easily distinguishable traits that made each band stand out. The most recent performance I attended was at the Inn at Morro Bay, and was played in the area of the hotel called, “The Bay Club.” The bay club was like a lounge and casual dining atmosphere, it was casual to the rest of the hotel at least. The hotel seemed to be pretty upscale, located right on the water with very well dressed older people, mostly couples, attending the show. The room or lounge area where the band played didn’t really have a prominent stage for the group to play they were just in an area of the restaurant where everybody could see and here them, but not ever get in their way. Their was a bar here and waiters were serving some food, mostly appetizers and bar food though. Everybody in the room seemed to be drinking either wine or a cocktail, which also lead me to feel that everybody here had a little “Richer” air, to them. The first show that I attended was located in a much different setting. Unlike the other venue, which was very secluded sitting practically by itself on the waterfront, the restaurant called “Moody’s Bistro” is located right in the heart of downtown Truckee. If you don't know where Truckee is, its located about 20 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe. On the weekend if you are looking for fine dining and some great live music, Moody’s is without a doubt where any local will tell you to check out. Moody’s had a much more restaurant feel to it, rather than just a lounge area. It consists of a bar like “The Bay Club,” which is where the band plays, but as you walk into the next room, separated only by a doorway, you enter a refined, quieter, upscale dining atmosphere. The bar area is like a new world compared to the dining. The bar is loud, crowded, hectic, while the dining area is a pleasant, white table cloth restaurant where you can enjoy a delicious meal, as well as have the company of the music playing in the background. The music playing in the bar never gets loud enough in the dining area to interrupt anyones meal. this is due to the placement of the stage in the bar and specifically built walls and angles to concentrate most of the noise into the bar area. Just LIke “The Bay Club,” Moody’s also had that more upscale feel to it. It is one of the nicest restaurants downtown but strangely enough it is also one of the locals favorite bars. Maybe not so much young freshly turned 21 year olds, but older parent type adults, who know how to appreciate their alcohol all come to Moody’s on a friday or saturday night to hear the live performance. As for the actual music of the bands, to me they seemed very similar. The “Mike Raynor Group,” consisted of a pianist, a stand up base player, and a percussionist. “Fiscus,” was composed of a saxophonist, a stand up base player, and a percussionist. They both played kinda calmer, more relaxed songs you could eat or drink to, neither group really played any real dancing music. The percussionists to me seemed very similar, they both used a brush as well as their drumsticks while playing and they both seemed to hold the same role in each of the different bands. The only difference I noticed was that the drummer of “The Mike Raynor Group,” improvised a lot more. That was also a difference between the