As the catchy rhythms of “El Gato Gordo” start to flow in the air, student soloists begin piecing together their upcoming improv solo. The Intermediate and Advanced Jazz Bands hosted their annual Jazz BBQ performance on Friday Oct. 18, delving into unique aspects of jazz and showcasing what students have been working on for the past few months.
More than 400 people attended Jazz BBQ, with around 30 people helping out. Tri-M Modern Music Masters Honors Society (Tri-M) and Instrumental Music Council (IMC) were responsible for making posters, setting up, distributing tickets and cleaning up for Jazz BBQ while parent volunteers helped prepare the food. Food such as pulled pork sandwiches, beans, potato salads, cookies and watermelon were prepared by student and parent volunteers.
“They’re super helpful. They set up the mics, plan everything [and] organize everything. If we did not have them, this concert wouldn’t even happen,” alto saxophone player senior Julian Gomez said.
Improvisation, the act of composing music on the spot, is a commonly used method during jazz. According to Band director Corey Wicks, to improve at improvising, a musician must listen to a lot of jazz and practice. In a typical improv, soloists base their improvisation on scales such as the blue scale and popular jazz rhythms while the rest of the band plays accompaniment music.
“With improvising, it’s being able to get the specific rhythmic feel for each type of music. Rhythm is the most important thing by far,” Wicks said.
In jazz band, students also explore different types of music styles such as swing, pop, blues, rock, funk and Latin jazz. Different rhythms, improvisation and scales set jazz apart from traditional music styles such as classical music.
“Jazz is very laid back and there are many different genres,” tenor saxophone section leader and jazz vice president senior Lea Vinculado said. “There’s a lot of challenging rhythms, but it’s very soothing to listen to yourself play, especially when you know what you’re doing.”
Leading up to Jazz BBQ, students practiced their parts in sectionals and ran through the pieces daily. The jazz bands held a five hour rehearsal on Wednesday, Oct. 16, where they had a full run through of the pieces played at Jazz BBQ. Students also practiced their music individually at home or during tutorial
“Something that helps me practice in general, not just for jazz songs, is trying to make [changes] to pieces by experimenting and figuring out the notes. The satisfaction of learning how to play a piece or just that I’m slowly getting better keeps me motivated to practice,” alto saxophone player freshman Bradley Ellis said. “It’s like when you learn how to make an amazing tasting meal.”
Some Jazz BBQ traditions are how musicians in Advanced Jazz were put into small groups and given around a month to practice their music during class periods. Musicians were given the opportunity to create fun names such as Rice and Beans, The Despicable Quartet, 16 Eyes, etc. Teachers such as Ms. Maletz, Mr. Lim and Mr. Panlilio were also invited to perform alongside the jazz bands, showcasing their music ability.
“[Small ensemble] helped me [because it showed me] how to balance and work with an even smaller group compared to big band,” Gomez said.
Some performers believed they could improve on their performance, but overall, the performance ended on a happy note. With the event being the last Jazz BBQ for the seniors and the first for the freshmen, there were many mixed emotions such as excitement, nervousness and pride.
“I feel very accomplished to have done this for four years, and I am really proud of us for working really hard. I’ll miss the people. It’s really hard to learn the music at first, but once everyone gets it, you’re just having fun,” Vinculado said.
