Opening with songs from the Pops Choir’s “Hairspray” tour set, followed as the Choir filed away from the stage with the curtains opening to reveal the bustling sound of the Manhattan High’s Jazz Band, the Blue Notes Jazz Ensemble debuted on a shared stage with the Pops Choir on Nov. 19 at Rezac Auditorium for their annual Fall Showcase.
Starting with “Groovin’ High,” the band transitioned into songs like “Bim-Bom,” “Christmas Island,” “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” and finally, “Big Noise from Winnetka,” the songs were split up as both groups had their turns in the spotlight.
“This time it was Pops Choir, then Jazz Band, Pops Choir, Jazz Band,” jazz director Devin Burr said. “Next time it might be different. It just depends on how things work out the best for both groups.”
This was the Jazz Ensemble’s first foray on the stage this year, but preparations went back as far as the second week of the school year. Pieces for the fall showcase were selected around the beginning of Oct.
“They worked very hard on the media to make it very clean and tight with lots of energy,” Burr said. “And it was one of those concerts where, if I hadn’t been here, they could have run the whole thing themselves.”
The set list also featured many standout improvised solos which highlighted some of the talent in the ensemble. For junior Griffin Meyer, stepping into the spotlight brought its own nerves.
“I was nervous because I missed the first [solo] a lot in rehearsals,” Meyer said. “But I did good. I hit it all in the actual performance.”
The audience erupted with cheers and applause for each solo and after each song, on both the Jazz Ensemble and Pops Choir’s parts.
“I was surprised at how big the crowd’s reaction was,” Meyer said. “I didn’t expect it to be so big.”
As the concert drew to a close, the Pops Choir members rushed towards the stage to toss roses and dollar bills onto the stage, the crowd accompanying their playful cheers with applause and whistles.
“The encore after the last song, Big Noise, was a surprise,” senior Jake Larson said. “I wasn’t here yesterday when we decided to do that and so I learned about that during our first practice for the concert.”
Away from the stage, each musician apart of the jazz ensemble had their reasons for joining the band. For Larson, it felt like the only home for his instrument.
“It was the only place that felt fitting, being a bass guitarist,” Larson said. “A lot of the concert bands would perform an upright bass.”
But for Meyer, it was the passion for music, being in both the MHS Marching Band and Jazz Band.
“I thought it was fun,” Meyer said. “It’s more individualized instruction, as opposed to, ‘this section sounds flat’, you know.”
The small class size continues to foster a tight-knit community, a long-standing part of each of the MHS music scenes. In the classroom and on the stage, the Jazz Ensemble is a way for the members to create things together and have fun with what they’re doing.
“Jazz as an art form has been around for a long time, but it hasn’t been as popular in the music realm for quite some time,” Burr said. “It’s just important for everybody to know that jazz still has some meaning to society, even though it’s not the most popular form of music anymore.”
