Swing Central

THREE OUTSTANDING JAZZ BANDS RECEIVE CASH AWARDS IN SAVANNAH MUSIC FESTIVAL'S 2008 SWING CENTRAL COMPETITION

Ten outstanding high school jazz bands from across the nation competed for $13,000 in cash awards in Savannah Music Festival's (SMF) SWING CENTRAL High School Jazz Band Competition & Workshop. The three-day jazz intensive included improvisation sessions, and breakout instrumental and performance clinics with many of the world's finest jazz educators during SMF's closing weekend from April 3-5, 2008. Apart from participation in SWING CENTRAL programs, students saw their clinicians perform live in several standing-room-only productions featuring such jazz greats as Hank Jones, Marcus Roberts, Wycliffe Gordon, Robert Gambarini, Marcus Printup, Andreas Oberg, Jeff Clayton, Eric Reed, Jason Marsalis and many others.

2008 Awards were as follows: $5000 first-place award to New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL), $2500 second-place award to Dillard Center for the Arts (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and $1000 third-place award to Agoura High School (Agoura Hills, CA). Each non-placing band received a $500 travel stipend. The three winning ensembles also played during an opening set at the sold-out finale featuring the premiere of Wycliffe Gordon's SMF commissioned work, "Welcome to Georgia Town." Each band received a standing ovation from the audience comprised of several hundred participating students along with nearly one thousand festival patrons.

The Agoura High School Band, directed by John Mosley, started the evening off with the Duke Ellington classic "Such Sweet Thunder" featuring saxophonist Jeff Clayton, as well as numerous student soloists. The second-place band, Dillard Center for the Arts, led by Christopher Dorsey, played a rousing rendition of Jerome Richardson's "Groove Merchant." New World School of the Arts, under the direction of Jim Gasior, fervently delivered "Savannah Trails," composed especially for SWING CENTRAL by jazz trombonist Wycliffe Gordon (who made a guest soloist appearance during the piece). Following the performances, checks were distributed to the winners and a custom-designed trophy was presented to Mr. Gasior.

In the Savannah Morning News, Lee Hicks, director of bands at Fontainebleau High School in Louisiana, said the experience was transformative for his students. The band traveled more than 10 hours to arrive in Savannah, but the drive was well worth it, he said. "Between the clinics and the workshops and the remarkable list of clinicians, it's been an incredible experience musically," Hicks said, "because the kids are sitting next to some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world."

Other participants: Centennial High School, Roswell, GA, Charleston School of the Arts, Charleston, SC, Fontainebleau High School, Mandeville, LA, Hoover High School, Hoover, AL, Overton High School, Memphis, TN, South View High School, Hope Mills, NC, Ware County High School, Waycross, GA, Savannah Arts Academy, Savannah, GA, Hilton Head Island High School, Hilton Head Island, SC

The five judges for the competition were a distinguished panel of jazz educators including Jeff Clayton, James Ketch, Marcus Roberts, Jason Marsalis and Jack Wilkins. Other 2008 SWING CENTRAL faculty included Dave Stryker, Roland Guerin, Thomas Walsh, Leon Anderson, Jr., Rodney Jordan, William Peterson, Marcus Printup, Rick Simerly, and Wycliffe Gordon.

SWING CENTRAL is open to high school jazz bands from across the country. Committed to enhancing studies of the jazz tradition in the South, this program fuses an established high-quality mentorship program with a youth jazz band competition of national scope. The dates for SWING CENTRAL 2009 are March 25-27.

The SWING CENTRAL High School Jazz Band Workshop and Competition is sponsored by Robert and Jean Faircloth. Major support was also provided by Atlanta Gas Light Resources and Citi Trends. Additional contributions from Rus and Jan Boekenheide, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Southern Arts Federation made this program possible.