On the last week of half term, our Auditorium turned into a jazz club for one evening only.
And what an evening it was…
The Blues and Roots Jazz Ensemble, led by Ed Babar (double bass) and featuring project director David Lalljee (trombone) are inspired by the music of Charles Mingus; a jazz composer and double bassist active through the 1950s-70s. They run engaging courses for schools which allow jazz ensembles like ours to make music and friends with local school partnerships – in this case our longstanding partnership with Rutlish Jazz Ensemble. It was an honour to be playing with such incredible world-class musicians, and we gained so much from their experience and passion in jazz music. They were superb to watch and listen to – giving a full experience within one musical performance! I greatly enjoyed the audience participation, tackling tricky clapping rhythms whilst taking us on a journey of inspirational music.
Our jazz ensemble was delighted to have this opportunity – and I’d say rose to the occasion magnificently! The instrumental pieces featured debut performances from soloists as young as Year 7 and a wide range of instruments including oboe and cello – perhaps not the most typical members of the jazz scene – yet added even more fun to the party!
Blues and Roots ensemble provided a fantastic masterclass with us prior to the concert, sharing expertise in soloing and jazz style. I believe I speak on behalf of all the performers when I say we benefited hugely from their talents and would highly recommend it to any aspirational instrumentalists who might be considering next year’s concert!
Tara Minton – the fabulous Australian jazz singer – returned to run an inspirational masterclass with Canto. Each year, Tara brings energy and song to the evening and none more so than in this latest performance. She continues to be a vocal stunner – particularly when hitting those high notes in her incredible performance with the band – and Canto gained much from her talent in their masterclass. Canto was on top form thanks to Tara’s expertise, as they navigated tricky jazz harmonies with determination and joy! They provided quite a force to be reckoned with – even with a whole brass band behind them – and lifting the roof off for the final performance of the evening.
Undoubtedly, the main stars of the show were the solo student guest singers. They truly brought the sparkle to the evening – not only through brilliant repertoire choice but because of the quality of everyone’s voices! Jazz style singing allows greater freedom to explore different tones and vocal colours. This more individualistic style was evident through the repertoire choice – perfectly suited to each singer and chosen by them. It was not only a great opportunity to play with a skilled band, but for each singer really showcase their talent and push themselves to new limits in a genre little heard before at WHS – and the audience was blown away. Every singer who stood up that night should feel so proud – they were genuinely stunning to hear. We hope that even more people would like to take the chance to show off their skills next year!
