Although it found it's beginnings in `houses of ill repute' in the New Orleans' red light district, jazz is serious music.

In fact, to create something new on the fly, in front of a critical audience, while others are doing the same, is as difficult as scoring a piece for an orchestra.

The next time you hear a beautiful melody played by a jazz band, memorise and hum that melody while listening to the soloist and you will get as close to being inside someone else's mind as a psychiatrist can.

(Of course only try this at home, you -- like someone on the lower level stage left on Tuesday night -- may not be harmonically inclined and may butcher a fine piece of music!) If you have heard it performed many times and know the twists and turns it may take and the signature marks, you can almost anticipate where the soloist may go.

It is from that background that I had to wonder aloud on Tuesday night who decided to put on an amateurish light show while veteran trumpeter, songwriter, composer, bandleader, educator, improviser, and all round nice guy Chuck Mangione created beauty onstage at Ruth Seaton James.

It seemed they had just discovered how a toggle switch worked and had decided to show they could keep the beat -- which they didn't.

Treble Clef productions put on a great show -- the first show started on time -- but they have got to control that light and sound room staff.

And not only was the lighting disrespectful of the music, the aforementioned person tried to repeat the intricacies of "Amazing Grace''.

They hummed the ancient lament of redemption by old slave ship captain John Hawkins while Chuck improvised brilliantly. People did not pay to hear you whoever you are.

There were people who walked about the auditorium and others who clapped at inopportune moments.

The architect who designed the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts made a major boo boo when they put doors that bang loudly at the exits.

Imagine pouring your heart into an inventive and physically draining drum solo like Daryl Pelligini did only to have it spoiled by a door slamming.

When Mangione culminated a wiggly solo on "Fun and Games'' on his huge flugelhorn with a flourish, as some knucklehead clapped -- just to be the first to do so.

It's like watching a toreador at a bullfight in his controlled grace manhandle a raging beast and then see Mr. Bean walk across the arena in his underwear.

Dizzy Gillespie once told Mangione his axe was his woman and he had to hug it during the day to get anything out of it at night.

Mangione had to have caressed his big flugelhorn all day on Tuesday.

He was able to get warm tones from the ungainly instrument while performing his hit "Land of Make Believe'', the exquisite "Bela Rica'', and his theme for the 1980 Winter Olympics, "Give it all you Got''.

Guitarist Grant Geisman and reed man Jerry Naylor were fluent foils for Mangione, particularly Naylor's tenor sax work.

Under the circumstances, Mangione and his band gave a workman like performance during their first show Tuesday night -- I only hope more people could appreciate it.

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