On April 22 the Brock Music Department put on Jazz Night. It featured Brock’s Jazz Band, the Student-Run Jazz Combo and special guests, the local professional jazz band, Beyond Brass. The student portion of the the show, run by music teacher Jarrett Schill provided a wide variety of jazz styles. The Brock School Jazz band played the first. The students were given plenty of opportunities to play solos and their hard work getting ready for this performance paid off.

Some of the highlights were the Juan Tizol-Duke Ellington classic Caravan, Swing Fever and the Latin tune Sway, which included an extra percussion player and a fine vocalist. Mr. Schill accompanied the students for this portion of the evening.

Next up was the combo. The students put this group together, practiced, and chose the songs on their own time. They were very confident and each student introduced a song. There were plenty of solos for all. Some highlights were Benny Golson’s “Look to the Stars,” “Sing, Sing, Sing” from the great Louis Prima, “Moonlight in Vermont,” and songs from Cannonball Adderley and Antonio Carlos Jobim. The audience was very impressed.

After a brief intermission, the much larger professional band, Beyond Brass, played a lively set with music from the likes of Jaco Pastorious, Sammy Nestico and Dizzy Gillespie.

Later, the students joined the pros on stage. While the stage was crowded, everyone seemed happy and there were no signs of nervousness from the students.

Other fun songs from the evening included “Jazz Walk,” and “Count Bubba.” The night ended with a Gordon Goodwin song, “Morocco.” The audience showed their appreciation for a fine night of music.

Next up the Brock Jazz Band will be performing at the Nanaimo Jazz Festival.