The Souderton Area High School Music Department presents 2020 Virtual Winter Band Showcase Lab Jazz Band Adam L. Tucker, Conductor Buffalo Wings…………………………………….………………...Mike Carubia Hark, the Herald Angels Sing………………..…...arranged by Blair Bielawski The Cool One……………………………………………………...Benny Golson Arranged by Erik Morales Go Tell it on the Mountain………………….……..arranged by Blair Bielawski Bari-ed Alive!!.........................................................................Erik Sherburne 2020-2021 SAHS Lab Jazz Band Alto Sax Trumpet Colin Schofield* Maddy Nase* Abraham Bleazard Caitlyn Longazel* Drew Landis* Tenor Sax Luke Kolumber Andrew Febus Deklan Linthicum Baritone Sax Trombone Miranda Jellen* Evan Garbacz *Senior Member Piano Owen Kearns Bass Kaiden Croissette Drums Will Stover Christian Zeller Program Notes Hello and Happy Holidays! I think we can all agree that this is weird. I’ve never had to make opening remarks in print before. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever written these down before in my 20 years of teaching! However, in this changing landscape, everything is weird, but what hasn’t changed is the desire to make great music, and you have these students to thank for that. It’s not a typical performance, but it still shows the dedication and perseverance these musicians have to create, rehearse and perform these pieces they have been working on since August. Their ability to overcome our unique situation and still find a way to present this concert is a testament to how wonderful these band students are, and you should be proud of them. I know I am! I want to thank the SAHS administration for their unbelievable support in creating this showcase, as well as all of the faculty and staff for making it work. But my largest thanks go to you, the parents and families of the band students. Without your support this program would not exist. Words cannot express my gratitude, especially in a year where the easiest solution was to simply not play an instrument. All of you are the reason we can still have a thriving program here at SAHS, so I cannot thank you enough. Enough talk, on with the show! Buffalo WIngs- Jazz is an odd genre. There are so many different styles ​ within jazz it is literally impossible to list them. However, I am very partial to funk, which is what this piece is. Funk is a great teaching tool; it forces the students to relax and really find the feel of the music. If it’s too fast it sounds messy and if it’s too slow it becomes insufferably boring. The Lab Band has done an awesome job of putting this one together, so much so that the students pushed me to add this to the program. Also featured are solos by Andrew Febus on tenor sax, Caitlyn Longazel on trumpet and Will Stover on drums. Enjoy! Hark, the Herald Angels Sing- Finding decent arrangements of Christmas ​ carols for high school jazz bands is WAY more difficult than you would expect. There are tons of great arrangements for professional groups (I’m sure everyone has heard at least one jazz Christmas tune by Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr. or Michael Bublé) and tons for younger groups, but this level is often ignored. This version of Hark is part of a collection of four jazz arrangements called Christmas Favorites, and it offers the perfect difficulty for high school groups. Each of the arrangements has its own distinct jazz style, this one being a medium swing in the vein of 60s cool jazz. It’s super catchy and a blast to play! The Cool One- Benny Golson is one of the last living jazz legends. He’s an ​ insanely talented sax player but is also known for his compositions which were primarily written in the aforementioned Cool Jazz era. This Latin flavored piece offers the percussionists some time to shine as it features feel changes to swing and some enjoyable time on the cowbell! Top it off with solos from Colin Schofield on alto sax and Caitlyn Longazel on trumpet and you have the piece that the Lab Band fought to have added to the concert lineup! Go Tell it on the Mountain- Here’s another selection from Christmas ​ Favorites. This version keeps the ¾ time signature of the original carol but adds some super soulful gospel elements. The arrangement sounds so natural you’ll wonder why more people haven’t tried to perform the piece like this. I do have a confession; up until about 8 years ago I was not aware this was a Christmas song. I felt horrible for not knowing this, but I discovered that there are members of THIS BAND that also didn’t know this! I can always count on high schoolers to make me feel better about my ignorance. I bet some people reading this didn’t know either… Bari-ed Alive!!- I’m not usually one that likes punny song titles, but this is an ​ AWESOME song. Obviously, it features our bari sax player Miranda Jellen throughout the piece. It also has a really catchy tune reminiscent of the old beach party movies from the 50s and 60s (Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello anyone?). It really is an infectious song and it really shows off the loose and fun nature of this band. We really do have fun! We also get another solo from Colin Schofield on alto sax. Good luck getting this one out of your head! .