Jazz band hoping to hit all the right notes in New York

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This article was published 27/04/2011 (5339 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group of ambitious music students from River East Collegiate is hoping to hit one out of the park at an event that has been dubbed the World Series of high school jazz.

Members of the school’s jazz band will join students from 14 high schools across the U.S. at the prestigious Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival in New York City in May.

River East, which has participated in the music competition and workshop four other times, is the only Canadian school to ever be invited to the event.

“Some directors refer to this as the World Series of high school jazz,” said REC band director Jeff Kula, who has led the band during  all of its appearances in the Big Apple.

“We’re very excited about it. The kids have worked very hard.”

A total of 110 entries were received for this year’s festival, which is celebrating its 16th anniversary.
Each school was required to submit a recorded performance, which was then judged by a panel of jazz education experts prior to the final selections being made.

In addition to the competition and workshops, jazz students will have an opportunity to play with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra.

Kula, a resident of East St. Paul, said many of the bands taking part are from performing arts schools.

His River East students have been busy preparing for the competition since last September, practicing as many as four times a week.

Cole Ridd, a Grade 12 student at River East, will be taking part in the festival for the second time and can’t wait for it to begin.

“It’s a great opportunity to go through twice,” he said.

“The festival is an amazing experience. To have a facility dedicated to one style of music, we don’t have that exposure here in Winnipeg. It’s like a culture shock.”

Grade 11 student Tristan Smythe has never been to the festival before but is looking forward to interacting with other jazz afficionados.

“I’m looking forward to the music. We’ll be around some of the best jazz musicians in the world,” he said.
Smythe said the trip likely wouldn’t have been possible if not for the efforts of Kula.

“You can gather all the talented musicians you want, but if you don’t have a good director it doesn’t matter,” he said.

adrian.alleyne@canstarnews.com