Since a blizzard knocked out the scheduled region/state jazz contest at Gustavus Adolphus College on March 5, five Clipper jazz bands had a home court advantage on Monday when they performed for the contest in their own band room.
But it wasn’t like they needed a leg up as Erik Hermanson’s bands are accustomed to playing at home and on the road. Among them, they received four superior ratings and one excellent at the contest.
“I was really proud of all five groups because they showed such courage, focus and skill in playing for a judge,” said Hermanson. “It takes a special kind of bravery to put yourself out there and perform for someone critiquing your every note. All the jazz ensembles rose to the challenge today.”
Michael Thursby, director of athletic bands at Minnesota State University, Mankato, was supposed to be the judge on the original date, so Hermanson was fortunate enough to find a slot that worked for him to come to CHS. After the Monday contest, he headed to Shakopee to judge band groups there.
Green Jazz, which is made up of mostly 11th graders, played first and performed “Blues by Five,” a classic swing tune, “Little Sunflower,” a Latin ballad and “It is what it is,” an original funk chart topper.
Thursby told that group that they had great energy and drive, that they worked great together and that they had awesome soloists.
He rated the band’s performance superior.
Consisting mostly of seniors, Blue Jazz was next and played “Norwegian Wood,” a jazz waltz made famous by the Beatles, “Feeling Good,” which featured Vivian Hilfer on vocals and “Watermelon Man,” a rock tune featuring many soloists.
Thursby commended this band for their great feel and maturity. He loved that they encouraged each other and throughout the performance and were having fun. He complimented them on awesome soloist work and professionalism. He told them the icing on the cake would be if they had even a little more “sass” and attitude because they are playing at such an advanced level for high school jazz performers.
He rated the group’s performance superior.
Following up, Jazz Combo played a standard swing tune by Sonny Rollins called “Sonnymoon for Two.”
“This chart is just a basic tune, and then the musicians improve solos to make the final product very complex,” Hermanson said.
Members of the combo are seniors Ariel Murphy, Evelyn Keltgen, Allison Cink, Jackson Bowen and Reid Knish and juniors Elijah Mons and Hilfer.
He rated the group’s performance superior.
Next on stage, Red Jazz, a sophomore group, performed “Alright Ok You Win,” a traditional swing tune, “Moonglow, a ballad written in 1933 but made famous by the 50s movie “Picnic,” and “Free Download,” a brand-new rock tune by Victor Lopez.
Thursby pointed out the “rock solid” trombone section. He suggested changing between “warm air” to “bright air” depending upon the piece, synchronizing spaces (rests) and improving articulation, similar to how a choir uses good diction to make sure the words are clear.
He rated their performance excellent.
Closing out the contest was Black Jazz, a freshman band. It performed “Caravan, which was written for the musical “Sophisticated Ladies” and is now popular again because of the movie “Whiplash,” Autumn Leaves, a song recorded steadily in the 50s by artists that included Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, and “Heatseeker,” an original rock tune by Larry Barton.
“Don’t be afraid to perform with your body a little bit more,” Thursby said. “I can tell you really enjoy it. It’s ok to smile. If something sounds good, nod your head and be like ‘yeah, that was cool.’ As an audience member, if we see you enjoying yourselves and performing with your body, then we know you are enjoying it, and we enjoy it even more. Playing music is fun. Have fun.”
He rated their performance superior.
You can hear these and the rest of the Cleveland jazz bands at the jazz band concert on May 5 at 12:30 p.m. At 7:00 p.m. that day the concert bands will perform.
Above: Contest judge Michael Thursby gives feedback to Blue Jazz (photo courtesy of Erik Hermanson)
Video: Red Jazz playing “Alright Ok You Win”
Video: Black Jazz playing “Caravan”