School Of Jazz

It was a fun jazz session with a great group of students, which included two different schools and a variety of age groups. The energy brought by some of the young lions melded nicely with the older aesthetic. The first song by Sun Ra titled “El is a Sound of Joy.” Mentor Keyboardist Josh Rawlings was happy to hear the group was already doing the song and encouraged them to “get weirder on it” and to explore the dynamic range and tempo. Next the group tackled “Angel Eyes” by Earl Bent and Matt Dennis with an arrangement by Rawlings. The final tune the group played “Climbing Stairs” written by Rawlings and patterned after the works of Abdulla Ibrahim and Ahmad Jamal. Josh played a vintage Rhodes organ made popular in the 1970s by artists such as Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock. He was first introduced to the instrument by a trumpeter who brought one to a gig at a Vietnamese restaurant and was hooked when he first played it. Danielle Westbrook is a continuing education student at SPSCC