The 2024-2025 Jazz band is meeting every morning to get ready for Blues in the Night. The music performed by the Jazz band sounds amazing, but there is always hard work and dedication needed as they meet before school starts.
Being in a Jazz band means getting to the school early to start practicing at 7 a.m. While most kids are just waking up or on their way to school, the students in Jazz Band are practicing their music.
With a class so early in the morning, it takes dedication from students to show up and participate. Along with that, Jazz Band doubles as the Pep Band, so they are learning music for that and performing at basketball games. The director Mr. Lawhorne says the challenge he faces is, “I would say that it’s the early morning, but my Jazz Band students are pretty dedicated. I would say the biggest challenge is the amount of songs that we learn for the year. We are the Pep Band in addition to the jazz band so we go through a lot of charts, but we also have a lot of fun.”
The music for Jazz Band is different compared to any other band. The music is usually saxophone and trumpet based. Solos are also pretty common in the songs performed by the Jazz/Pep Band.
Jazz band is an experience that is different from any other type of band. The band is smaller so there is a chance to get closer to the other member and the director, Mr. Lawhorne. Senior Kaya Munoz describes her time in Jazz Band as, “The environment of Jazz Band is very fun to play in, and working towards our concerts and festivals and performing at them has given me many experiences that I know I will remember for the rest of my life.”
The Jazz Band has the Blues in the Night concert coming up Nov. 23, while dinner will be provided. The High School Jazz Band, class steel band, and after school steel band will perform the music they have spent time perfecting. This also doubles as a fundraiser for all the bands.
