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Jazz Workshop, Tiger BeBop and Jazz Ensemble, all directed by music teacher Richard Labedz, will perform in Jazz Night Thursday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium. A student-faculty collaboration band will also perform.
Each of these ensembles will perform American jazz pieces, according to Labedz.
Labedz emphasized the amount of improvisation in the concert.
“A big part of the equation of jazz is having that sort of spontaneity,” he said.
Jazz Workshop will play pieces by Sonny Rollins and Peter Blair.
“In Jazz Workshop, students learn improvisation, structures and forms of jazz and how a big band works,” said Labedz.
Tiger BeBop, a vocal jazz ensemble, will perform an a capella arrangement of “Blackbird” by the Beatles.
Jazz Ensemble will perform pieces by Sammy Nestico, Duke Ellington and Herbie Hancock, including Hancock’s “Watermelon Man.” Labedz describes the latter as having a “funky ’70s-type electric vibe.”
The group, featuring senior Ellie Abbott’s vocals, will also perform “Straighten Up and Fly Right” by Nat King Cole and Irving Mills.
“The audience hopefully should be taken through an experience of the tradition and history of jazz,” he said.
Admission will be free with a suggested donation of $5.
