A y ear of jazz
A 32 piece saxophone mega band. An afternoon
learning from the members of the National
Youth Jazz Orchestra. Snow falling in the
Pamoja Hall. It’s been a great year for jazz...
Three months of practice ensured that all jazz ensembles were
ready to give an entertaining performance for Crash into Christmas.
From Voices singing ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ to Big Band kicking off the
concert with ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ (featuring a blistering
solo from Kai Hayashi), the concert featured a diverse range of
well-prepared performances. Some other highlights from the night
were the Jazz Band’s Christmas Medley with three classic Christmas
songs compiled into one, and the festive duet of ‘Baby it’s Cold
Outside’ sung by Peter Westbrooke and Inci Gürün with backing
from the Big Band.
The other main jazz concert of the school year was Sevenoaks
Swings which was the debut for the Saxophone Mega Band
playing Mr Beston’s arrangement of ‘Tequila’ for a loud and epic
60
performance. Big Band had a Jungle Book theme featuring solos
from Tom Williams on trumpet, Finn Tyndall on trombone, Keira
Bassett on saxophone and a Latin percussion break led by Alex Vafai
and Peter Westbrooke. At Sevenoaks Swings this year, I personally
enjoyed watching the clarinet ensemble play ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
The Jazz Club Concert showcased Jacob Robinson on double bass
playing ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’, Mitika Agarwal
singing ‘Precious’ and Oli Lewis on saxophone playing ‘And I Love
Her’ by the Beatles. After the interval, Mr Beston joined the trio
with his saxophone for a semi-improvised piece – a wild few
minutes of jazz.
To finish off the school year, the Jazz Platform Concert featured
George Mylod who gave a wonderful performance of ‘Alfie’ on the
trumpet, with nice tone and feeling. Various smaller jazz ensembles
also performed, such as the Coltrane Sax Quartet playing ‘Looney
Tunes’ and the Parker Sax Quartet playing ‘Wallace and Gromit’.
To end the concert, the Jazz Band came together for one last set of
pieces including ‘Birdland’ and ‘Sweet Caroline’.
This year has been a triumph for jazz, and it has been a privilege
for us to have taken part in it. We are all grateful to Mr Beston
and the rest of the Music department for their teaching and the
opportunities they have provided.
Columbus Sandor, Year 11
MUSIC REVIEW