The Brain Child of Director John Jacobs
"Railside", Grand Island, NE — this open-air community concert brought together 2 high school big bands, 2 guests artists, 1 vocal ensemble, and a middle school jazz band comprised from 3 area schools.
Good weather = Good vibes = Good music = Good times!
After a week of grey and rain and even SNOW... we were blessed with a gorgeous sunny evening to serenade the local community in the up and coming down town "Railside" district.
A decent crowd gathers to watch this concert in three acts — extra incentive: note the ice cream and taco trucks at the crossroads behind the crowd ;-)
Master John Jacobs kicks off the band with a taste of Blue Monk
Collaborations Galore
The bands got to play with each/both of the guest artists — and a special crew of vocalists was handpicked to perform a couple of challenging arrangements made especially for them to sing with the full orchestra. Super cool!
(Shout out to Eric Burger for adding his 2 cents and facilitating the collaborations)
Get your kicks on Route 66... YEEEAAAAAAHHH!!!!
These young trumpeters really got it going on! (the older one too ;-) )
Such a pleasure to collaborate with the band, and with Eric Burger on one of my old favorites "C Jam Blues" aka "Duke's Place"
Preparation + Opportunity = LUCK
The other unexpected bonus for me on this gig was working with these amazing musicians — Jesse LaBrie (beard) and Elisia Flaherty (purple shirt). They do such a great job with the vocal program at this school that working with their young singers was a piece of cake! All I had to do was put on some finishing touches to help them get their swing feel in the pocket, and tighten up a few harmonies.
Thanks for coming out to support your singers in this unconventional-for-y'all program!
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