posted May 22, 2013, 10:41 PM by Garfield Jazz Admin
THIS
JUST IN! For one week only, Essentially Ellington has just put online
the multi-camera, broadcast-quality video of our Garfield Jazz Ensemble I
in competition earlier this month in New York. Watch it while you can! Garfield is announced
at the 1:48:28 mark, and stay tuned to about the 2:10 mark for a
"post-game" interview with our own Clarence Acox.
This link will take you to the very start of the Garfield performance!
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posted May 22, 2013, 10:16 PM by Garfield Jazz Admin
[
updated May 23, 2013, 6:25 AM
]
On the evening of May 20, Garfield Jazz opened its band room doors for
its first-ever jam session with students from Washington and Hamilton
International Middle Schools. Under Mr. Acox’s direction, some twenty
students on all instruments mixed it up with each other and with Band I
members Homer Aalfs (tenor sax), Felix Peaslee (bass), Kellen Bryan (drums), Adam Ellner
(drums) and Alice Mar-Abe (piano). It was a great opportunity for
students to perform in a group with their cross-town peers. They not
only played together well as ensembles, they took advantage of the jam
session to strut their stuff in improvised solos. Many look forward to
playing together next year as they enter Garfield. Our thanks to the
students from Washington, Hamilton, and Garfield students for turning
out and to Mr. Acox for bringing about this fun evening of jazz! |
posted May 19, 2013, 8:17 AM by Garfield Jazz Admin
One
of the last appearances of the 2012-13 incarnation of Garfield Jazz
Ensemble I will take place Friday, May 24 at the Seattle Center Armory
(formerly the Center House), when Mr. Acox and the band entertain
attendees at the Northwest Folklife Festival's High School Swing Dance.
The Swing Dance begins at 3:45 pm, and Bulldog Jazz is set to take the
stage at around 5:00 pm. (Note: This is later than the originally
scheduled start time of 4:00 pm.)
If
you missed the Band at the Gala, or if you didn’t but you want to hear
more of them, start your holiday weekend early, and make your way to the
Seattle Center and get yourself into a Bulldog kind of groove! |
posted May 18, 2013, 9:35 PM by Garfield Jazz Admin
The 2013 Garfield Jazz Gala was a resounding success--thank you to all
who attended the event, and to all the generous volunteers who made it possible!
We are so grateful for all of the work put into it by the Garfield Jazz
community. So many people contributed in so many ways, large and
small, by: inviting family, friends, and neighbors donating desserts and silent auction and raffle items decorating tables and designing the program coordinating food and beverages registering guests creating the wonderful slide show and video orchestrating what looked to be a very successful raise-the-paddle putting the finishing touches on every detail and successfully running the night's festivities
...and
the list could go on! And, of course, thank you to the stellar
musicians and directors of Bands I, II and III for providing a terrific
evening of musical entertainment for the Gala, and to you all for your
support and for being in the Garfield Groove! Finally, special thanks
goes to Nelda Swiggett, this year’s Gala Chair extraordinaire, for her
tireless efforts to ensure that everyone had a great time... It was, without a doubt, a "tasty" celebration of musical excellence!
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posted May 12, 2013, 8:20 PM by Garfield Jazz Admin
[
updated May 19, 2013, 8:32 AM
]
Garfield Jazz Ensemble I missed out on the overall prize, but came away with recognition on multiple fronts at the 18th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival
in New York on May 12. Garfield received three "Outstanding Section" honors--Outstanding Rhythm Section,
Outstanding Saxophone Section and Outstanding Trumpet Section. In
addition, several musicians received individual recognition as soloists--Jack Swiggett (Outstanding Soloist, Piano), Isak Washburn-Gaines
(Outstanding Doubler (on tenor sax and clarinet)), Ariel Loud (Honorable Mention,
Alto Sax) and Connor Hargus (Honorable Mention, Trombone).
These awards followed a dazzling performance by the entire band on Saturday afternoon, in which they played "Royal Garden Blues," "After All," and "Cotton Tail." Featured soloists included (in addition to the above), Alice Mar-Abe, Homer Aalfs, Caroline Sheffield, Charlie Feig, Clarissa Thompson, Tom Renehan, Tavish Fenbert and Matthew Thompson. The audience packing Lincoln Center's Rose Hall was energized by the band's performance and enthusiastic in their appreciation. Click here for complete Festival results.
A heartfelt congratulations goes to the
winning sections and individuals, and to all of the musicians and Mr. Acox for
their participation in a wonderful three-day celebration of excellence in jazz and jazz education. We also congratulate the winners of the overall awards for EE 2013 –The Tucson Jazz Institute (Tucson, AZ) in first place, Jazz House
Kids (Montclair, NJ) in second place, and our neighbors to the north, Roosevelt
High School, in third place. |
posted Apr 27, 2013, 10:42 PM by Garfield Jazz Admin
[
updated Apr 29, 2013, 6:53 PM
]
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If you bet on Garfield to excel at the Reno Jazz Festival, you’re going home a winner, as every Bulldog Jazz ensemble that took the stage collected honors from the judges! Band II led the way with a first-place finish in the Apprentice Band Division, and Band I took second place (to Esperanza (CA) High School) in the AAA High School Band Division. In the AAA High School Combo Division, the Bulldogs nearly made a clean sweep of the top honors, taking first (Combo III), third (Combo I) and fourth (Combo II) places. Congratulations to all of our students and Mr. Acox for these wonderful showings in Reno!
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posted Mar 21, 2013, 11:57 PM by Garfield Jazz Admin
We
are delighted to tell you that Band III Director Jay Thomas is the
winner of a “Golden Ear Award" as the 2012 Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist
of the Year! The award, presented by Earshot Jazz on March 20,
recognizes and celebrates outstanding achievement in Seattle jazz. Nominees were
selected by a poll of Earshot Jazz readers, jazz performers, audience
members, journalists and industry professionals. Other honorees included
Wayne Horvitz (Lowell's dad, as co-owner of The Royal Room, Columbia City’s wonderful
jazz venue) and Roosevelt High School’s Scott Brown, who joined
Clarence Acox in the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame. Click here for more
details. Congratulations, Jay and Wayne!! |
posted Feb 23, 2013, 5:09 PM by Garfield Jazz Admin
[
updated Mar 8, 2013, 6:58 AM
]
At the 2013 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, both Garfield Jazz Band I and Band II were featured in the Young Artists’ Concert, and Ariel Loud (alto sax) was selected to play in the “Hamp’s Club” concert for soloists. Receiving honorable mention recognition were Homer Aalfs (tenor sax), Connor Hargus (trombone), Alice Mar-Abe (piano), Felix Peaslee (bass), Janka Preston (drums), Paul Lawrence (alto sax), Nic Lutenko (piano), Tai Warner (tenor sax), Harald Hyllseth (trumpet), David Melegh (trumpet), and Fedor Paretsky (tenor sax). Congratulations to all!!
A complete list of the Festival's honorees can be viewed here.
Click here to see the Festival's video of Band I's performance of "Off the Top," and here to see Band II playing "Solar" in the Young Artists' Concert!
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posted Feb 20, 2013, 7:09 AM by Garfield Jazz Admin
[
updated Feb 24, 2013, 4:22 PM
]
Garfield Jazz Band I has been selected to compete in the 18th annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival! EE 2013 will take
place May 10-12, 2013 at New York City’s Frederick P. Rose Hall,
the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
This will mark the twelfth time in the last 15 years that Clarence Acox
has led Garfield to this prestigious event! Band
I is one of just fifteen high school ensembles from across North
America that were chosen to participate in EE 2013. Entries were judged
by a panel of prominent jazz educators and musicians through a two-tier
blind selection process.Essentially
Ellington is much more than a music competition. It’s a three-day
celebration of jazz and jazz education that includes jam sessions,
rehearsals, and workshops with preeminent clinicians. It culminates in a
concert and awards ceremony that
will feature the three top-placing bands as well as a performance by
jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.Congratulations, Band I and Mr. Acox!! The Garfield jazz family is so proud of your remarkable achievement! |
posted Feb 2, 2013, 11:32 PM by Garfield Jazz Admin
Garfield
Jazz Band I was chosen as one of three finalists in the High School
Division of the Bellevue College Big Band Jazz Festival XVII on
Saturday, February 2. Two band members were honored as Outstanding
Soloists for the festival--Isak Washburn-Gaines on tenor sax and Connor
Hargus on trombone. Mt. Si High School and Roosevelt High School (the
first-place winner) joined Garfield for the evening’s finalist concert,which also featured a performance by the Bellevue College Jazz Ensemble
and guest multi-instrumentalist Mike Crotty.
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