Garfield jazz band swings into 1st place at New York event

By Paul de Barros
Special to the Seattle Times

FRANK STEWART / JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER. Garfield High bandmates Jacob Zimmernan, center, and Lucas Carrico, right, rehearse for Essentially Ellington.

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NEW YORK — Hitting a solid groove that would have made Duke Ellington himself smile, the Garfield High School Jazz Band clinched its second consecutive triumph at the Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival last night.

Garfield also picked up six outstanding soloist awards.

"This far exceeds my wildest dreams and expectations," said Garfield Jazz Band director Clarence Acox. "To win this festival two years in a row is amazing. The fact that no one has ever won it two years in a row is even more amazing."

Will Squires, Garfield's piano player, said, "You can't thank Acox enough for giving (us) these opportunities."

The school was awarded a $2,000 prize last night after a concert at Avery Fisher Hall by the top three bands and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

Region's jazz success Puget Sound-area high schools have made the finals of the Essentially Ellington competition every year since it was opened to schools west of the Mississippi in 1999. Here's a list of area schools that have made the finals: 2004: Garfield (1st place), Roosevelt 2003: Garfield (1st place), Edmonds-Woodway 2002: Roosevelt (1st place), Garfield (2nd place), Mountlake Terrace (honorable mention) 2001: Roosevelt (2nd place), Shorewood, Newport, Kentlake 2000: Roosevelt (3rd place), Garfield (honorable mention), Shorewood, Mountlake Terrace 1999: Garfield (honorable mention), Roosevelt, Kentridge

"It's amazing to see so many kids at one school that have a feel for jazz," said Ted Nash, a saxophonist with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and the mentor for the Garfield band in New York.

Second and third places went to high schools from Foxboro, Mass., and Sun Prairie, Wis.

Sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center, a nonprofit arts organization led by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, Essentially Ellington started in 1997. Named for and featuring the music of the great jazz composer and performer Duke Ellington, it's widely recognized as the country's most prestigious high-school jazz competition.

This year's contest began last fall, when Jazz at Lincoln Center sent six compositions by Duke Ellington to 1,140 high-school bands. Of those, 102 schools submitted a recording of three tunes. Jazz at Lincoln Center then chose 15 finalists — including Seattle's Garfield and Roosevelt high schools, as well as Spokane's Mead High School — to compete on stage in New York.

The three-day event began with workshops with professional jazz musicians Saturday, and competitive performances Sunday and yesterday. It all came to a head in last night's ebullient, sold-out concert by the three top bands and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

Event a jazz boot camp

For the audience at Avery Fisher Hall, Essentially Ellington is an exciting run of 20-minute performances of Ellington favorites such as "Jack the Bear," "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" and "Stompy Jones." But for the young musicians backstage, the experience is more like jazz boot camp. From the moment they arrive, they are thrust into rehearsals, workshops, pep talks and jam sessions. At night, many fan out to New York's jazz clubs.

Two Seattle students — Anne Moxon from Roosevelt and Jacob Zimmerman from Garfield — had rich but very different experiences. Both are outstanding musicians who won soloist awards in the competition. Pianist Moxon, a tall, fresh-faced senior who plans to do a double major in jazz and classical music next year at Oberlin College, had never been to New York.

"I love it here," she exclaimed Saturday, sitting in jeans and sneakers at a dark table in B.B. King's large, posh nightclub on 42nd Street, after a noon rehearsal in a professional studio around the corner. "I want to live here."

Though Zimmerman, a saxophonist, and Moxon have healthy perspectives on competition, they came, like everyone else, to win. The Roosevelt band's rehearsal before its show was like a locker-room bonding session before a football game, with hugs and high-fives and handclasps. After Roosevelt performed a swinging set Sunday, Moxon beamed.

"It was the best we've ever played," she said. "The rush just went on for 15 minutes."

After Garfield's performance yesterday, Zimmerman was more circumspect.

"I think we did great," he said quietly. "I feel good. But you never can tell."

Area has good track record

Seattle-area bands have done well at Essentially Ellington since the event expanded in 1999 to include schools west of the Mississippi. Garfield and Roosevelt each has made the finals five of the past six years. Roosevelt won in 2002. Garfield has now won twice. This area has sent as many as four bands to the finals in the same year.

As in past years, this year's competition was very close, but stricter enforcement of a 20-minute performance limit may have affected the outcome. New World School of the Arts, from Miami, Fla., turned in a spectacular performance that had many handicapping it as the winner.

But yesterday afternoon, just before he read the names of the top three bands, Marsalis intimated that the results might upset those thinking anyone was a shoo-in. "Cheer now," he said ominously to a whooping crowd, "because when I get finished with these announcements, y'all aren't going to be cheering."

When Moxon heard the news that Roosevelt had been eliminated, she stood outside in the sun in the grand plaza on Lincoln Center.

"That was hard," she said. "But you have to trust what they say. We played our best."

Washington schools won 11 soloist and three sectional awards. Garfield soloist awards went to Zimmerman, alto saxophone; Roxy Coss, tenor saxophone; Samuel Schlosser, trombone; Benjamin White, clarinet; Kendall Becker, bass; and Will Squires, piano. Roosevelt soloist awards went to Logan Strosahl, tenor saxophone; Michael Chapman, trumpet; Andrew McGovern, trumpet; and Moxon, piano.

Garfield also won awards for reeds and rhythm section. Roosevelt won for its trombone section.

Matt Walsh of Spokane's Mead High School, which made the finals for the first time, took a solo award for baritone saxophone.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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