Ventura High School
Jazz Ensemble |
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The VenturaHigh School Studio Jazz Ensemble is
an after-school class that meets three days a week. They perform both
big band and combo instrumentation for the school and community. This
class has been a core ensemble for the instrumental music program for
the past 8 years under the direction of Paul Christopher Hunt. |
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Adolfo Camarillo High
School Jazz Band |
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The ACHS (Adolfo Camarillo
High Schoo) Jazz 1 Ensemble is one of three jazz ensembles within the
Camarillo Music Department and currently the only ensemble that runs
for the duration of the school year. Jazz 1 is under the direction of
Music director Daniel Cook and is comprised of 20 students of all grade
levels that reached the ensemble by audition only. The Jazz 1
participates in various community performances throughout the county as
well as approximately 6 concerts and 3 jazz festivals. The Jazz 1
earned Excellent ratings at the Newbury Park HS and Westlake HS Jazz
Festival in the Spring of 2017. Jazz 1 Ensemble is one of 15 performing ensembles within the Camarillo Music Department and most of the students are a part of many other portions of the music program, including the Symphonic Band and Marching Band as well as jazz combos. |
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Cabrillo Middle School Jazz Band | ||||||||
Under
the direction of Mr. Mario Boccali, jazz band A is a successful group
of students that find an interest in jazz. Jazz band A, the top jazz band at Cabrillo Middle School, has a total of sixteen students playing a percussion, wind, Brass, or string instrument. A big part of every rehearsal is accomplishing certain goals set by Mr. Boccali and the instrumentalists. Our regular day in band is simple, but takes effort to accomplish. We improve through songs, charts, and exercises. Jazz Band is an after-school program that takes time out of each student's day. This goes to show the dedication put in by all of the students that make up the jazz band. Along with Mr. Boccali, our band director, jazz band A is made up of the traditional jazz instruments. Our first row is all saxophones. From left to right we have a baritone, tenor, two altos, and another tenor. We offer a sweet melody to punctuate each song. Two trombones, one of which switches between euphonium and trombone, make up the second row. They add a great base to each song. The third row is three trumpets, that play a large and high melody to accompany the saxophones. Topping the band off is a tight rhythm section with one piano, three guitars, one bass, and the drums. Having a full band like this requires us to do all we can to become the great band we hope to be. |
Among
our band, we try to set goals to rise to the occasion. The band’s most
recent goal has been to focus on articulations. Perhaps in soloing or
in unison, the difference between jazz and not jazz is the space
between the notes. Like Mr. Boccali says, if you want to make something
jazzy, you must exaggerate every little detail, no matter what. This
gives us jazz kids a good foundation for everything we play. Our second
goal is to be prepared for class. Being prepared could span from having
a pencil to mark notes in class, to knowing your part in a song. Not
only does this teach us responsibility, but it teaches us an important
lesson in life. If you don't come prepared, in any situation, you are
going to fall behind and not do as well as you could have. There are
detailed goals and there are general goals, but either way, we always
extract something important from them. Jazz band A practices two times a week for 75 minutes each day. Within those days, we try to be as productive as possible. The very first thing we do at the start of each rehearsal, is warming up. We play a song, or the head of a scale, and then each student has twelve measures to solo on that blues scale. This is key to rehearsal, because most kids came from concert band or orchestra earlier in the day, and need to get in the jazz mindset. After warming up, we play and critique our songs. Our class usually gets through three songs, depending on how prepared we are. Mr. Boccali is the chief assessor, but he does have the input of his students. This gives us good understanding of what we need to do and how to hear little mistakes and grade our peers. Many of us have realized that dissecting a song and figuring out what we need to do, allows us to grow stronger and be the type of person that helps people grow by analyzing them and not just praising them. Our rehearsal is a meticulous process, and this allows our jazz band to grow. This is what the Cabrillo Middle School Jazz Band A is all about. With many components to a successful jazz band, our group seems to do our best in the hardest times by being dedicated and motivated. The main reason Mr. Boccali started this jazz program was to give kids the opportunity to express themselves in the most popular form of classical music. And with every gig, rehearsal, and song played, we accomplish spreading jazz to all people and making our message heard without speaking, and by simply doing what we love. ~Jolea Moes
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Oxnard High School Jazz Ensemble | ||||||||
The Oxnard High School's Jazz Ensemble will once again grace the stage at
the Yacht Club on March 19th. This will be the fourth time that the
ensemble, under direction of Fundi Legohn, will participate in this
Channel Cities Jazz Club event. I'm always happy to hang out with the
Cats and have my students be a part of an experience to be around these
musicians and see their joy of creating Jazz music also.
Keep the Music Alive Channel Cities Jazz Club! |
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