Jazzin' it up

The District 1 Jazz festival was held at the Cape Elizabeth High School on February 16th. Middle and High Schools from Southern Maine came to perform and show off their stuff. The SPHS Jazz Combo, Jazz Ensemble and Mahoney Jazz Band represented South Portland.

I listened to the Jazz Combo perform jazz standards from Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. They sounded awesome! All the soloists played very well. While waiting for the the Jazz Ensemble to take the stage I got a chance to check out the Noble and the Scarborough High School Jazz bands. The Noble band was great. I particularly liked the last piece they played, "Dizzy Atmosphere". They had all 5 trumpeters come down and play a solo. The Scarborough band was not to be out done. Their second number, "I've got a crush on you" featured a trombone solo that was wonderful to hear.

The SPHS Jazz Ensemble took the stage after Scarborough. They opened with "It is what it is" written by our own Craig Skeffington. Great sound. Seth Jacobson had the vocal solo on the next number, "Come Rain or Come Shine". They closed out their performance with "Mr. Dodo". The Ensemble scored all 1s for the competition. Way to go!

I closed out the evening by seeing what we have to look forward to in the Jazz programs in South Portland. The Mahoney Jazz band played terrific. From the upbeat "One O'clock Jump" to the soulful "When I fall in love" they have every reason to be happy with their performance.