It was the 25th anniversary for the La Porte High School Jazz Festival, and the occasion was commemorated with some special guests and some equally special students who were breaking it down on the stage.
Multiple bands from multiple schools gathered to play. The jazz bands from Kesling and Boston Middle School performed as well as the studio band, lab band, and the jazz band from La Porte High School. They each played a variety of fast and slow tunes with spotlights on student soloists that stood to show their skills to the crowd.
Mickey Stisher, Director of Music at La Porte High School, was the MC for the evening.
"We have seven professional guests tonight," Stisher said. "The kids look forward to this every year. Through the years we've had some really big names play with us but we lightened up on purpose to make this year special since it's our 25th year. And this is how we end the year every year. It's important that the kids get an opportunity to be able to perform with these guest artists because it will be a great memory for them and they will learn so much."
The artists that played that night were excellent professionals who had about as much fun playing as the students did. They rocked the stage, enjoying the music that the young souls around them produced. The guests for the evening were:
Lou Marini, Jr., saxophone; Platinum recording artist and member of the Woody Herman Orchestra; Doc Severinson; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Saturday Night Live Band; Frank Zappa; The Blues Brothers; Maureen McGovern; The Band; Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars; Dr. John, Lew Soloff Quintet; Blue Beck with Joe Beck; Red House; Eric Clapton; and the Magic City Jazz Orchestra.
Jim Widner, bass; Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri - St. Louis and he is a Yamaha performing artist.
Clay Jenkins, trumpet; Associate Professor of Jazz Trumpet at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
Stockton Helbing, drums; talented musician who plays all across the country for well-known artists, most recently he played with Doc Severinson.
Brett Stamps, trombone; Professor of Music at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
Rick Haydon, guitar; Professor of Music at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Ken Kehner, piano; teaches jazz piano at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where he also directs jazz combos.
The kids got a chance to practice with each of the musicians before the show. Clinics were even conducted where each of the guest artists would take sections of the band and pass their skills and knowledge onto the waiting minds of their young pupils.
"These are very well-prepared high school bands and sweet kids," Marini said of the LPHS students. "It's obviously a terrific school. The kids think it's cool and they seem relaxed and it's nice. And the way that this is done with a whole group of guys doing clinics with the kids is unusual because normally when you do clinics it's one person talking to a whole band. But with this you get a trumpet player to talk to the brass section, I can talk to the saxophone players, Ken can talk to the piano players so the kids have a unique opportunity. They get access to a level of expertise that they usually don't get...your presence can be the difference for a kid who's talented and wants to do something and you can be the spark that sets them off."
There's truth in those words. You never know whose life you will impact on a daily basis so always share your knowledge and pass your wisdom on to others because it may send them in a direction that can take them to their dream-come-true.
The concert was fantastic and everyone performed extremely well. Don't be surprised if you see one of these kids back one day at a future LPHS jazz festival as a guest artist with a great amount of music knowledge to share!
Click here to see more photos from the concert!