28 | Summer 2017 JAZZ ON TOUR By Randy Mintz, Music Department Chair, Band Director The 2016-17 school year has been an unprecedented year of success for the Greensboro Day School Jazz Band. Members of the 2016-17 Jazz Band included Carter Anderson ’19, Lindsey Cooke ’17, Makenna Cripps ’18, Emily Dean ’17, Sierra Delk ’18, Nick Grapey ’19, Moritz Kramme ’19, Will Presson ’20, Jiachen Ren ’19, Cooper Sanders ’19, Stone Solomon ’20, Laura Watson ’19, and Michael Williams ’17. The group traveled during the Upper School’s Winter Term to New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz! The trip was full of music and culture, providing a remarkable experience for the students. The trip launched a new era for this class. Two years ago, the Jazz Band was a once per week club, and now it is a credited class. JENerations Jazz Festival The Jazz Band spent the fall semester planning, rehearsing, and looking forward to performing for the JENerations Jazz Festival in New Orleans. This event is sponsored by the Jazz Education Network, an organization “dedicated to building the jazz arts community by advancing education, promoting performance, and developing new audiences.” We were proud to be selected as one of 33 school groups from around the country to participate. Our performance was adjudicated by nationally respected jazz educators, Rosana Eckert and Mike Steinel from the University of North Texas, and Dane Alderson, the bass player for the Yellow Jackets. The excellent feedback helped propel the band onto a new level of competence. The conference gave our students a chance to hear multiple concerts by major jazz artists such as the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ellis Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Jeff Coffin, Victor Wooten, the Yellow Jackets, Kim Nazarian and many other musicians. Students had full access to the exhibits, clinics, and workshops about a variety of aspects of playing jazz, along with other students and professional jazz musicians. S t o p b y t h e B e n g a l Bookstoreforacopy! Middle School students performed with the Jazz Band at the Jazz Cafe concert.