ARTS
Jazz Band: The Better Band
By Thomas Groenhout and Parker Clay
With only five members, Providence Day School's audition-only jazz band is quite exclusive.
According to Mr. Hough, the conductor of the jazz band, all members are equally important this year. They have removed the horn section, "so in essence, they can't hide behind the horn players playing the melody."
Each school year, they experiment with all of the types of jazz; they study bossa nova to funk and everything in between.
Although Mr. Hough describes drummer Zach Levi as a "very gifted high school drummer," he says that his "most improved award" would go to Martin Winton. When Martin started on the keyboard in the jazz band, he had never played a jazz style before while the others all had some time of experience before joining.
The group is used for alumni association meetings, all-school events, and for the school's various other musical needs. In addition to their visible appearances, jazz band has many other functions. One interesting part of the jazz band is that when you call the school and are put on hold, the jazz band's soothing melodies keep you company while you wait. In addition, they make the audio recordings for many of the school's videos that get posted online as well as those that are presented in assembly. Their next performance is November 1st at an open house.
Mr. Hough noticed that jazz band had trouble competing with "double period AP this or double period AP that" in Providence Day's competitive academic environment, but jazz band members agree that it is worth losing a certain AP class in order to be a member of the jazz band.
Next year, Mr. Hough hopes to expand the jazz band enough that he can actually have two sections of it. With over 30 performances per year, it would be beneficial to have two "teams" so that the performances could get split up and it would be less of a time commitment for the students.
While Mr. Hough is reluctant to call the members of the jazz band "more accomplished" than those of the regular band, he says that most of them do take private lessons. If you'd like to join the jazz band, please don't hesitate to contact Mr. Hough at [email protected].
“They can’t hide behind the horn players playing the melody.” – Michael Hough
Dr. Cowlishaw joins the Jazz Band at the Charging Forward event.
Photo by Lynette Allison