Get jazzy with players from acclaimed high school band

The Roosevelt Jazz Band comes to Vashon Jan. 12.

January 9, 2019 1:30 am
From The Roosevelt Jazz Band at Seattle’s Roosevelt High School, many of the players go on to study at music conservatories and pursue careers as music educators. The band will play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at VCA (Courtesy Photo).
From The Roosevelt Jazz Band at Seattle’s Roosevelt High School, many of the players go on to study at music conservatories and pursue careers as music educators. The band will play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at VCA (Courtesy Photo).

Vashon Center for the Arts will present a performance by the Roosevelt Jazz Band, one of five jazz ensembles studying at Seattle’s Roosevelt High School, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the arts center.

Led by Director Scott Brown, the band performs throughout the Pacific Northwest, competing in jazz festivals and raising funds for the school’s jazz program at events including the annual “Hot Java Cool Jazz” concert featuring the area’s top high school jazz bands.

The jazz band has also been selected as an Essentially Ellington Competition finalist in 18 of the past 20 years, earning a spot to compete with the best high school jazz bands in the nation at Lincoln Center in New York City. Many Roosevelt graduates continue playing jazz after they graduate, attending music conservatories and pursuing careers in music and music education.

Roosevelt High School is a comprehensive four-year public school with over 1,900 students in Seattle. Under the leadership of principal Kristina Rodgers, a Roosevelt graduate herself, the school recently received a “gold” rating from U.S. News & World Report and is nationally renowned for its music and drama programs.

Steeped in the swing traditions of the Basie and Ellington bands, with an ever-expanding repertoire of modern big band literature and an emphasis on developing outstanding soloists, The Roosevelt Jazz Band will bring a big sound to its concert on Vashon.

Advance tickets to the show at VCA are $5 student, $16 member, $18 senior and $20 general, and can be purchased at vashoncenterforthearts.org. All tickets at the door cost $24.