EDMONDS — The Rotary Club of Edmonds Daybreakers likes to celebrate jazz.
The club is doing it again this year with its 17th annual Edmonds Jazz Connection Festival on Saturday.
People can hear student jazz bands from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Edmonds Center for the Arts.
Choirs are performing from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Holy Rosary Parish Hall.
Jazz combos get in the act from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Edmonds (movie) Theater.
And at 7:30 p.m., professional vocal jazz singers John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey perform at Edmonds Center for the Arts. Tickets start at $24, available at the center’s box office.
Festival admission during the day is free, but audience donations collected will go to help school music programs in the region.
“While a principle goal of the event is to connect our community with its many wonderful student jazz musicians, we use this event as a pivotal fundraiser to directly support our school music programs and students,” said organizers of the festival.
High schools bringing jazz bands to the festival include Lynnwood, Edmonds-Woodway, Meadowdale, Mountlake Terrace and Arlington. Middle schools involved include Edmonds, Madrona, Meadowdale and College Place. Edmonds Community College’s jazz band also will perform.
Highlights will include Jazz 1 high school performances by Meadowdale (directed by David Hawke) and Lynnwood (directed by Phil Onishi) at 11:30 a.m. and noon. Then, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., check out the top jazz bands from Mountlake Terrace (directed by Darin Faul), Edmonds-Woodway (directed by Jake Bergevin) and Arlington (directed by John Grabowski).
Faul and Bergevin and their Jazz 1 bands returned earlier this week from New York City, where they competed in the top-rated Essentially Ellington festival. The local bands did not place in the top four, but they were among the best bands recognized in various special categories:
Edmonds-Woodway won an honorable mention for its reed section, Kyle Bainbridge won an honorable mention for his baritone saxophone work and Jack Hillman was named one of the outstanding trombonists.
Mountlake Terrace won an honorable mention for its brass section, Gian Neri won an honorable mention for his guitar work, Dylon Rajah was named one of the outstanding tenor sax players and Andrew Sumabat was one of two outstanding triplers (plays three instruments).
Some audience members attending Jazz Connection may have to run between the arts center and the movie theater to catch some of the instrumental jazz combos, which draw from the high school bands and EdCC.
High school jazz choirs singing at the festival are from Meadowdale, Shorewood, Edmonds-Woodway and Cascade. Other choirs singing will include Edmonds Elementary, Meadowdale Middle and College Place-Madrona, along with the sixth-grade honor jazz choir with members from throughout the Edmonds School District.
The award-winning Soundsation from Edmonds Community College, under the direction of Kirk Marcy, sings the finale of the choir concerts. The Soundsation program begins at 3:10 p.m.
Edmonds Jazz Connection Festival
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. May 20 at Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Ave. N.; Holy Rosary Parish Hall, 630 Seventh Ave. N.; and the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St.
Free, but donations will be collected.
More at www.jazzconnection.org.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
