One Quadrangle lounge almost seemed like a night club last night.
A band played smooth jazz, hip-hop and R&B;, and tap dancer Omar Edwards dazzled a crowd of almost 50 students in McClelland Hall.
But as unusual as a jazz show was for the Quad, it also featured a familiar face -- Rob Grey, a security guard in Ware College House.
Although Grey has worked as a security guard on Penn's campus for over a year, music is his first love.
"I think it's important because it's in your mind and your soul and your heart," Grey said. "This is what keeps sanity in me, and without my music I don't have anything."
Last night's concert was a chance to showcase that love for some of the students whom he sees walking in and out of the Quad each day.
The show featured Grey on trombone, guitar and keyboard. He was joined by several friends he has known since the 1970s and his own brother, a full-time musician.
And the Penn students who see Grey as they return to their rooms say they enjoyed seeing the well-known security guard in a new light.
"I think it was great. Rob has this whole conglomeration of all these different genres that he throws on to one song, and he's doing a great job," College freshman Danny Sabra said.
For Grey, the musical roots run deep -- his father is the internationally known trombone player Al Grey.
As the youngest of four brothers, Rob Grey began learning the drums with his grandfather at a young age.
As he went through high school, he decided to try a few more instruments. He picked up the guitar, piano, baritone horn, trombone and tuba, often playing with his older brother.
He has written original smooth jazz pieces and collaborated with other artists in Philadelphia. Last night's show featured his work.
He also wrote theme songs for television for the Philadelphia School District eight years ago.
Grey and his brother also honor their father's memory by performing together every year on June 6 -- their father's birthday -- in New York.
For Grey, working as a security guard is only a day job. Although he works 40-hour weeks, he says his true dreams lie in the music.
Of course, gaining fame and success in the music industry isn't easy.
"Music is a tough business to be in, and if you're not established, it's real rough," he said.
Grey is optimistic, however. He said working for AlliedBarton Security, to which Penn contracts some security services, helps pay the bills, but he hopes to eventually go back to performing music full-time.
"Some people just become workaholics; they can't relax. I know how that gets, but you have to have something to fall back on to," he said. "Some of the security guards work so much around here, they don't have time to do anything else but work and pay the bills. You don't even realize you're not even really enjoying your life."
Students who attended last night said the evening itself was a welcome chance to relax.
"I think it's a cool blend of various rhythms," College freshman Boris Fedorov said. "It adds a new feel of sound to something that's so well orchestrated."
