Miles Chen's Senior Recital

Acknowledgements 

 

First and foremost I would like to thank my private instructor, Duane Benjamin, for all of his amazing guidance, advice and support throughout these past four years. I would not be who I am today without your help. I would also like to thank the other fantastic instructors and mentors that have immensely helped my growth throughout my musical career thus far. Thank you Arturo O’Farrill, Terence Blanchard, Hitomi Oba, Mark Turner, Brian Smith, and Justin Goff. You have all taught me so much about what it means to be a great musician, leader, and a human being.

 

I would like to thank my bandmates for their hard work and dedication to helping me achieve my musical vision, and for being the best friends I have ever had. Also to my jazz-adjacent friends Tessa, Jen, and Cassidy, thank you for supporting me and putting up with my various shenanigans. A huge thank you to my girlfriend, Jordan, for staying by my side and through all the ups and downs we’ve experienced together in our time at UCLA and beyond. 

 

Last but not least, I’d like to thank my mom for her unwavering support and incredible guidance over the years.

Personnel

Miles Chen

Trombone, piano, vocals

Madeline Rahn

Vocals

Joyce Lee

Vocals

Jordan Casciato

Vocals

Barrett Koontz

Alto sax

Yanaya Silva

Bari sax

Samuel Kredich

Trumpet

Ella Tarara

Trumpet

Reuben Molina

Trombone

Caden Potter

Piano, synth, keytar

Ruben Green

Piano

Matthew Wilson

Bass, Guitar

Micah Johnson

Bass

Nathaniel Miles-Urdan

Drums

Music

 

Piano intro

(Joe Hisaishi, Kim Duk Soo, Tigran Hamasyan, Richard Smallwood)

 

Sand Castle 

(Miles Chen)

 

This piece represents the shifting mental states I went through before and during COVID year. For me, this was a brief period of excitement for the future plummeting into a drawn out period of disappointment. At the time of writing this, I was learning the song “Overjoyed” by Stevie Wonder. Its lyrics about “building a castle of love” and having to “throw my castle away” resonated with me and helped inspire this work. I think we’ve all had our own sand castles…

 

Bodacious 

(Miles Chen)

 

My second year at UCLA was probably the best year of my life. It was the year of new beginnings, friendships, and my own sense of identity. Bodacious represents all of the joy, newness, and excitement that comes from meeting new friends, falling in love, and truly living in the moment. 

 

Skylark – A Child is Born

(Hoagy Carmichael, Thad Jones)

 

Like many others who are familiar with this song, Skylark’s beautiful imagery and its message, which to me is that of hope and yearning, connect with me on a deep level. I wanted to evoke its meaning and imagery with my unaccompanied voice at the beginning representing the lonely bird on its journey, and the rapid brushes on the snare drum imitating its flapping wings… A Child is Born is the first tune I learned at UCLA, during a very stressful period where I dealt with heavy insecurity and isolation from my peers. I have included this piece as a testimony to the growth I have experienced through these last four years as a musician and as a human being. This is dedicated to my teacher, Duane Benjamin, who has helped me from the ground up to where I am now.

 

Mothra Returns 

(Miles Chen, Matthew Wilson)

 

I wrote this piece with my friend Matt for the Intercultural Ensemble that we were both a part of in the Fall of 2022. At the time, I was grappling with incredibly difficult thoughts and emotions that I had never faced before. It was a truly challenging time for me and I am glad I was able to move forward from it. Mothra Returns, aptly named after the character from the Godzilla franchise, is an embodiment of the dark side within all of us that we choose to suppress. It is my “monster-piece”.

 

Waiting

(Miles Chen)

 

This was the first composition I wrote for my Experimental Neo-Soul band, Insight. Written around the same period as “Mothra”, this was my attempt to convey the emotions I was having through a musical genre I strongly connected to. 

 

Eclipse

(Miles Chen)

 

The climax of our journey occurs where the moon fully obscures the light of the sun, drenching us in darkness and confusion. Eclipse is about facing our fears, embracing the chaos, accepting the inevitability of change, and pursuing the light that is both within and beyond.

 

Suddenly

(John Farrar)

 

This lovely duet was originally recorded by Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richards in 1980 for the movie Xanadu, and is one of my favorite songs of all time. I chose to end on this song to express the catharsis I feel from the end of my journey at UCLA, the love and strength I recognize within myself, and the excitement I have for the future. This song is dedicated to my mom and the memories of us driving around forests of Washington when I was very young, as we listened to the greatest hits by Olivia Newton John, Queen, Janet Jackson and The Beatles.

 

Encore – feat. CADOSS