Loyola offered high school students from around the country the opportunity to showcase their musical talent to some of the biggest names in the business at its Jazz Festival last weekend.
The festival, held March 6-7, hosted the future of jazz and created an educational experience for everyone who took part. A group of jazz educators, several university bands and a force of high school bands gathered at Loyola for two full days of music.
During the day, Friday and Saturday, high school combos and bands performed songs to show off both group and individual skill to a panel of judges. These bands came from all over southern Louisiana (Baton Rouge, St. Tammany Parish and New Orleans), but a large group came from various places, such as California, Washington, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana.
After each performance, one of the judges would critique the performance in a private, group discussion. The judges included: Leon Anderson, Jr., percussionist and director of jazz studies at Florida State University; bassist JB Dyas, who has served as the director of jazz studies at New World School of the Arts and the Brubeck Institute and as the vice president of education and curriculum at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in Los Angeles; pianist and jazz department chair at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Michael Pellera; as well as several other veteran educators.
Aside from the performances, instructors offered master classes around noon to the young musicians. Guest bassist Rufus Reid gave classes in rhythm and bass, and Loyola professors gave classes on trumpet, trombone and saxophone.
“This is the first time many of these students have received such professional review; it’s beneficial in propelling them to the next level in their playing,” John Mahoney, director of jazz studies, said.
A major performance concluded each day — the first day, the Loyola Faculty Band performed, and the second day the Loyola Jazz Band performed with Reid.
Students seemed to appreciate their time spent practicing with guest performers, and listening to other bands.
“Playing with Rufus was valuable because of his input as we were playing, playing his composed pieces that challenged everyone, and playing with two basses,” senior trombonist Daniel Ray said.
“It was also good to hear the combos from the University of North Carolina, Delgado, and Capital University to get a feel for what other students at our level are doing,” he said.
The last event of the festival was an award show that recognized group and individual performances. Some of the schools that received trophies were the combos and bands from Baton Rouge Magnet High School, St. Michael’s Academy, Fontainebleau High School, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Beloit High School and Bloomington North High School. Students received many individual trophies for improvisational skills, and several students were awarded scholarships to attend the Loyola Jazz Summer Program.
Mahoney said that the festival served not only to entertain, but also to educate.
“The festival is not a money maker by any means; it is in the spirit of education, but it is a great recruitment tool for Loyola when searching for young talent, and showing our school off,” he said.
Garrett Cleland can be reached at [email protected].
