Jazzy in the Foothills: Festival event brings area groups, educators to town
By Wes Wade (wes.r.wade@gmail.com)
It was an idea Vance Thompson had been mulling over in his head sometime last fall. The director of the University of Tennessee Jazz Faculty and the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra wanted to put on some kind of jazz festival " an event where local jazz groups from area middle or high schools could perform, where outside educators could come and work with these groups during the day and play alongside the students later that night.
Incidentally enough, he’d later find out through his colleague Tom Lundberg, director of the Knoxville Youth Jazz Orchestra, that he wasn’t alone.
“So Tom called me and he said, ‘You need to call Tom DeLozier (director of bands for Maryville High School). He’s thinking the same thing you are,’” Thompson said. “So that’s how it started, and so (we’ve) invited jazz bands from around the area.”
Proceeds from the inaugural Maryville Jazz in the Foothills will benefit the Maryville High School Band. The event takes place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Clayton Center for the Arts with performances by the Knoxville Youth Jazz Orchestra, the Maryville High School Jazz Band and the UT Jazz Faculty.
Although Thompson grew up in Blount County and attended Maryville High School, where he was a member of both the marching and jazz bands, this will be his first time working with the school’s jazz band since his high school days.
“Our newest jazz faculty member, Greg Tardy, is going to present a master class for the kids,” Thompson said. “I think what he’s covering is the musical style of John Coltrane.”
Members of the UT Jazz Faculty performing at the event include Thompson on jazz trumpet, Mark Boling on guitar, Donald Brown on piano, Keith Brown on drums, Greg Tardy on tenor saxophone and Rusty Holloway on bass.
For those wondering exactly what kind of jazz might be heard in the foothills " the Knoxville Youth Jazz Orchestra might perform anything from Duke Ellington to Buddy Rich to Count Basie.
“We play a variety of music that is standard big band, jazz ensemble literature,” Lundberg said. “We also play well known standards from the Great American songbook and from the rhythm and blues tradition as well as original compositions.”
This year the auditioned ensemble has 18 members representing high schools in Blount, Knox, Sevier and Green counties. Past members have come from as far away south as Ooltewah and as far north as the Tri Cities.
“We like to refer to the youth orchestra as the education arm of the jazz orchestra,” Lundberg said. “This is where we do most of our educational outreach.”
And that educational component is a major part of the jazz festival event. Those involved in the project have high expectations for the years to come.
“I think Tom (DeLozier) has every right to expect it to grow as time goes on,” Lundberg said. “It fell into place in January. By then a lot of groups that could have potentially participated already had obligations. I think the idea here is that if it happens the same time next year there will be many more school bands coming from all over East Tennessee. I think the idea is to allow students the opportunity to play for each other and for the public and to interact with educators, to get a feedback on the performances and get tips on how they can improve.”
Wes Wade is the arts and entertainment columnist for Weekend. Contact him at (wes.r.wade@gmail.com)
