2008 Woodie Awards
SBU, BHS join jazz forces in Pike
Ian Paterson
Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: Gallery
- Page 1 of 1
Pike Auditorium was graced with three incredible jazz ensembles Thursday, April 19. Two bands from Bolivar High School (Jazz Lab, directed by Shane Knupps; and Jazz Band, directed by Steve McClard) teamed up with the Southwest Baptist University Jazz Ensemble to create a night of foot-tapping jazz that left the crowd with smiles on their faces and tunes in their ears.
BHS Jazz Lab led the night off with "Now's the Time." For such a young group of kids, the level of musicianship was very impressive. Most members of the Jazz Lab were freshmen and sophomores, however their sound matched well with both the BHS Jazz Band, and even the SBU Jazz Ensemble.
The Jazz Lab rounded out their short-lived set with two more tunes, "God Bless the Child," and "Fly Me to the Moon," a rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic.
Second on the bill was the BHS Jazz Band, made up of mostly high school upperclassmen.
The Jazz Band had a slightly longer set, even though they only added one more tune than the Jazz Lab.
The extra time was devoted to solos by many students, including Kara Smith, Cody Graves, Tyler Kemp, Matt Hopwood, Derek Carter, Dee Dee Blankenship, Steve McClard, Shane Knupps and Jeff Waters.
The Jazz Band's set included "Tuxedo Junction." "A Night in Tunisia," "The Jazz Police" and "Things Ain't What They Used to Be."
SBU's Jazz Ensemble was the final act to perform. The Jazz Ensemble played eight tunes, most notably "Rain Delay" by Dean Sorenson, "Trumpet Boogie" by Ray Anthony and George Williams and "Den of Iniquity" by Bret Spainhour.
The Jazz Ensemble featured many talented soloists, including freshman John Davis on the piano, freshman Joe Moore on guitar and junior Chris Wessley on trumpet. These three soloists played at a level above and beyond most college musicians. I was truly impressed with all three, especially Davis and Moore, as they are only freshman.
The three ensembles came together to play one final piece as a mass band, "Funkathustra" by Richard Strauss, which featured several solos from all three ensembles.
All in all, Thursday, April 19 was a great night to sit back, relax, and let jazz melt the end-of-the-year worries away.
BHS Jazz Lab led the night off with "Now's the Time." For such a young group of kids, the level of musicianship was very impressive. Most members of the Jazz Lab were freshmen and sophomores, however their sound matched well with both the BHS Jazz Band, and even the SBU Jazz Ensemble.
The Jazz Lab rounded out their short-lived set with two more tunes, "God Bless the Child," and "Fly Me to the Moon," a rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic.
Second on the bill was the BHS Jazz Band, made up of mostly high school upperclassmen.
The Jazz Band had a slightly longer set, even though they only added one more tune than the Jazz Lab.
The extra time was devoted to solos by many students, including Kara Smith, Cody Graves, Tyler Kemp, Matt Hopwood, Derek Carter, Dee Dee Blankenship, Steve McClard, Shane Knupps and Jeff Waters.
The Jazz Band's set included "Tuxedo Junction." "A Night in Tunisia," "The Jazz Police" and "Things Ain't What They Used to Be."
SBU's Jazz Ensemble was the final act to perform. The Jazz Ensemble played eight tunes, most notably "Rain Delay" by Dean Sorenson, "Trumpet Boogie" by Ray Anthony and George Williams and "Den of Iniquity" by Bret Spainhour.
The Jazz Ensemble featured many talented soloists, including freshman John Davis on the piano, freshman Joe Moore on guitar and junior Chris Wessley on trumpet. These three soloists played at a level above and beyond most college musicians. I was truly impressed with all three, especially Davis and Moore, as they are only freshman.
The three ensembles came together to play one final piece as a mass band, "Funkathustra" by Richard Strauss, which featured several solos from all three ensembles.
All in all, Thursday, April 19 was a great night to sit back, relax, and let jazz melt the end-of-the-year worries away.
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