The artistic form known as the saxophone was on audible display in Webster Hall Auditorium April 29 as Joel Griffin, senior music major, presented “The Art of the Saxophone Part II.” Griffin’s recital was broken into two sections, one of which marked a first for the Missouri Southern Music Department.

The concert began at 7:30 p.m. with a series of classical pieces.

“He did work very hard and so his prepared selections, the first half, were quite good,” said Dr. Charles Thelen, head of the music department. “They were coordinated well, and, of course, he had those two unaccompanied pieces which went well too.”

The pieces Griffin played for the first section of his recital were selections he and Thelen made. The songs mostly consisted of pieces he had played previously, according to Thelen.

The second half of the performance was the first time a senior recital focused on jazz. Previously, Kelly Mann, Southern graduate, played a single jazz piece with a jazz combo, but Griffin made jazz the second half of the show.

The audience found the pieces Griffin selected to be really interesting, Thelen said.

“Some of the jazz was bordering on avant garde, he even made mention of it,” Thelen said. “That long introduction to “Beautiful Love” was very strange, but the way it came out into the body of the tune was kind of like a sudden focusing of the elements, and I thought it was good.”

Of the pieces played, Joel Thomas, the pianist of the combo that accompanied Griffin, thinks the diversity of the music makes it difficult to choose a favorite.

“They’re all a blast to play because there are many different genres represented,” Thomas said. “We represented Latin with ‘Wave.’ It was a Latin ballad.”

Thomas found each of the pieces to be difficult for different reasons.

“They were all pretty tough, each one had its things,” he said.

“Groupwise, I think ‘Sing a Song’ was always the hardest to get together, because with the solos, it’s just hard to keep the rhythm section together.”

Thelen thinks Griffin’s jazz-focused recital may influence others later.

“Some may wish to do that again,” Thelen said. “Whenever somebody establishes a precedent, somebody else will follow.”