The Piedmont Highlander

The Student News Site of Piedmont High School

The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

Jazz Band Grooves at the Harvest Festival

Jazz+Band+Grooves+at+the+Harvest+Festival

Jazz band (Andrew Pinkham)Gathered in the band room, melodies of jazz float through the air. Although the weather does not feel like the crisp fall air, the Jazz Band class is in a race against the changing colors of the leaves to prepare for their fifth annual performance at Piedmont’s Harvest Festival.

This year’s Jazz Band class is missing a low brass section in Jazz Band, so trombone player senior Ian Taylor and other community musicians stood in for the performance.

“Freshman and junior year I played with them, so I am kind of used to it now,” Taylor said. “I chose to sit in because it wasn’t going to be huge commitment for me, and it also helps the Jazz Band out a lot.”

Senior Ben Ring, who played the drums in his previous years in Jazz Band, chose to play piano this year. He said he transitioned to piano because he wanted to have the knowledge of the harmony and notes of the piece to be able to better retain music and also break the stereotype that drummers are not real musicians.

Due to the early nature of the show in the school year, the class performed simpler music compared to what the students will be learning later in the year. Predominantly all class time has consisted of helping the students prepare for this show, Jazz Band director Doctor Andria Mullan said.

Jazz Band performed “Blues by Five” by Miles Davis, “Hit the Brick” by Gordon Goodwin,  “St. Thomas” by Sonny Rollins and “Struttin With Some Barbeque” by Louis Armstrong.

Although preparing for a performance tends to be stressful, and the audience consists mostly of parents, performing still continues to be fun, junior Taylor Scofield said. She said she enjoys finally getting to show people what she and the class have been working so hard on.

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