Jazz in full “swing”!

Over the course of the last few weeks, The OHS has had a lot going on. It started with a trip to Glenbrook High School for the NorthShore JazzFest. This was our only “competition” of the season, and all the bands finished in the middle of the pack in their respective divisions. They also received some great clinics, with Jazz 1 receiving one by grammy award winning drummer Paul Wertico (shown below). The real treat of the day was seeing the Armed Forces All-Star Jazz Ensemble, who did an amazingly difficult program on one day’s rehearsal.

Next up was the annual NIU Jazz Ensmble invasion on February 1st. Dr. Ron Carter (picture below) did clinics with all three OHS jazz groups, and their big band did sectionals with the bands as well. In the evening, Oswego East joined our jazz bands to open the concert up, and Rich Moore (sax professor at NIU) sat in on a tune. Then, the NIU band kicked it off as only they can, with OHS alumni Justin Smith and Matt Todd playing with the band. Guest artist Steve Davis (trombone) lent his unique brand of cool playing to the night.

Last weekend, the Jazz 1 traveled to Evanston for their first appearance at the Evanston JazzFest. While their performance was not as strong as the warmup, they really touched the clinicians deeply, and the band received five outstanding soloist awards, more then any other group. *Maddie Vogler on alto sax, Mary Watson on vibes, Paul Frieh on bass, Michelle Penley on trumpet, and Dougan Smith on tenor sax) They also saw an amazing concert that combined jazz and classical, with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, featuring Victor Goines (pictured below) on sax and clarinet.