On the 5th and 6th of April, the Fair Grove Jazz Bands and High School Choir held their annual Evening of Jazz at the Fruitland Road Country Church. The concert had a variety of jazz songs arranged by different jazz and latin artists.
The Jazz Band consists of three bands: Swinging Eagles, a competitive jazz band that had auditions earlier in the year, Big Band Jazz Band, a jazz group open to anyone interested in playing jazz, and lastly the Jazz Combo, a small jazz group that focuses on soloing and improve. All the jazz groups are led by high school and middle school band director Natalie Palomo.
Along with the performance, the guests were served food prepared by the parents and friends of the jazz students. The spectators were seated and served by members of the National Honors Society (NHS) who were able to secure community service hours.
Nathaniel Walters (9), a drummer for the Big Band Jazz, stated, “Evening of Jazz is an opportunity for the relatives of the band students who may or may not be in swinging Eagles. To get a chance to be able to see their kids in action.”
The Jazz Bands were also accompanied by the Fair Grove High School Choir. The choir performed many songs that they had been previously preparing throughout the school year.
Hadison Wingo (12), a member of the choir, stated, “To prepare for Evening of Jazz, I sang in class and rehearsed my solo with the band on Tuesdays after school.”
The choir for this year’s Evening of Jazz was not only high school, but consisted of multiple 8th graders. Over half of the choir was that of the 8th grade, with this being some of their first performances in front of an audience.
Both the choir and jazz band held rehearsals routinely to prepare for the concert. Riley Frazier (11) said, “Jazz rehearses twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We run through our songs to ensure that we sound good as a whole.”
Wingo stated, “I would say our hardest piece this year is Bridge Over Troubled Water. We had a hard time with our confidence through a section of the song and it slightly showed.”
As the school year comes to a close, the Fair Grove Jazz Band and High School Choir held their annual Evening of Jazz for an audience of friends and family to enjoy the sound of jazz and music.
