Whiz Kid: Downers Grove South's Jazz Ensemble

Check out a video of the band rehearsing to the right of the text, under the photos.

Name: Downers Grove South Jazz Ensemble

School: Downers Grove South

Accomplishment: South’s Jazz Ensemble was one of 15 jazz bands selected nationwide to travel to New York City in May for the prestigious Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival.

One hundred and ten bands submitted a recording of Duke Ellington and Count Basie music to be considered for the three-day festival. The chosen bands came from California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

“Being accepted to this festival is akin to reaching the jazz performance summit for a high school jazz ensemble," said South High School Fine Arts Chair Glenn Williams in a district release. "This represents the pinnacle in performance proficiency for these student musicians."

The festival was created by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, which is directed by Wynton Marsalis, a Grammy Award winning trumpet player. Members of that orchestra evaluated the tapes.

During the festival, the Jazz Ensemble will compete, participate in workshops and jam session and get to explore New York City. The three top-placing bands will perform with Marsalis as guest soloist.

Key to Awesomeness:

Jazz Ensemble Director Craig Roselieb started sending in tapes for the festival in 2000 and said he had sent in half a dozen tapes since then.

“I said at the beginning of the year that our goal was to make a great recording in January,” Roselieb said. “We also have hypertalented kids in here, and they’re young.

The band recorded songs including, "Tippin’ on the Q.T.," "Prelude to a Kiss" and "Every Day I Have the Blues."

Five to six members of the band are sophomores, he said, and there are only six seniors in the group. That many sophomores is usually unheard of, he said.

The bands must submit a recording of songs from Duke Ellington and another artist, chosen each year by the festival. This year, bands were allowed to submit recordings of Ellington and Count Basie.

“It’s really the cornerstone (of jazz),” Roselieb said. “They’re learning their roots and really getting a great foundation.”

The 2010-2011 Jazz Ensemble is one of the best groups Roselieb said he has seen in awhile. The band succeeds because it concentrates on the right areas of practice, he said.

“It’s a pleasure to see the students come alive and love a music people have been listening to for 70 to 80 years,” Roselieb said.

The band has already worked with two clinicians: Bob Lark from DePaul University and Ron Carter from Northern Illinois University.

Jazz Pianist and Educator Reggie Thomas came to Downers Grove South Tuesday night to work with the band. Each of the 15 chosen bands is able to work with a clinician from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Thomas is a professor of music at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. In 2009, he joined the faculty of Jazz St. Louis, directing the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars with fellow SIUE professor Rick Haydon.

Thomas said he planned to get down to the “nitty-gritty” with the band.

 “I look forward to these sessions,” Thomas said. “I love delving into the music, talking about the style and the improvisation with this genre.”

Roselieb said working with multiple clinicians helps the band broaden their musical perspective

“When you hear from multiple people, it keeps the music fresh,” he said.

The Jazz Ensemble will have free time to explore New York. Visits to jazz clubs are encouraged. The festival venue is located near Columbus Circle. Roselieb said he was excited for the group to experience the New York jazz scene.

“Jazz was born in New Orleans, but it grew up in New York,” he said. “I’ve been to the particular venue myself and it’s amazing.”