On Tuesday, February 17th, the members of Woburn’s Senior Jazz Band, under the direction of Mr. Farrow, had the opportunity to perform and receive adjudication at the Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo Festival at York University.

The morning began at 9:15, when the band members loaded the bus with their instruments, music, mutes and sticks. After waiting for a few straggling members, the journey began to York University’s Keele Campus. After arriving at the Accolade East Building, the band was led to the storage room by York students, including Woburn Music alumnus Andrew Beaudoin.

After storing belongings, the band went to the theater and to see the jazz band from Brebeuf College School perform. Coincidentally, this band played an interesting, and slightly modified, version of the very same arrangement of Birdland that the Senior Jazz Band had played at our Holiday Harmonies concert.

Right after this performance, it was time for the band to head to the warm up room for a half hour warm up and sound check. The excitement was tangible as the band headed from the warm up room to the stage, and began the performance.

The performance started with the up-beat rock tune Feelin’ Alright. This featured numerous soloists, including Mufei Jiang on piano, Saquib Siddiqui and Lauren Davis on tenor saxophone, Harun Mustafa on guitar, and Tamara Harduwar and Stephen Pristupa on trumpet. The second number was a slow ballad, made famous by Johnny Hodges and Duke Ellington. Woburn’s Evan Porter, on alto saxophone, and Mufei Jiang, on piano, mirrored the talents of these incredible musicians, and moved members of both the audience and the band. The band ended with a medium-speed swing tune All the Way, with soloist Evan Porter on alto saxophone.

After the excellent performance, the band went to the clinic room, where they were given feedback from a prominent Toronto-area trumpeter, whose name the author forgets. The clinician worked with the band on increasing the dynamic range of their playing, as well as overall musicality.

After a long day, the band was very pleased to see that hard work had paid off, as they received a silver standing and an invitation to the national festival, which will be held in Markham later this year.