On April 29, the Harborfields High School Jazz Band traveled to the Jazz Loft in Stony Brook for a multifaceted field trip experience. An auspicious date for this music – Duke Ellington’s 125th birthday, sandwiched on a day between the Blossom Dearie Centennial and International Jazz Day – it proved to be an occasion to remember.
Dr. Tom Manuel, the venue/museum’s founder, curator and artistic director, gave the school’s jazz band a personal tour, which included a look at a number of Ellington-related items such as one of the bandleader's tuxedos and a road case originally owned by alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, as well as extraordinary artifacts and curios associated with other iconic musicians like Louis Armstrong, Oliver Nelson and Charlie Parker. The students spent two hours workshopping repertoire with noted multi-instrumentalist Chris Donohue, and they delivered a two-set feature performance at night to a capacity house comprised of friends and family.
“What Tom Manuel has created, both in terms of the museum/venue space itself and the educational and performance opportunities embedded within, is really extraordinary,” Harborfields High School Jazz Band Director Dan Bilawsky said. “And to have an opportunity to bring our jazz band on such a notable date, explore history through the items at the museum, receive feedback from a first-class artist-educator like Chris Donohue and deliver a two-hour showcase concert at night is simply incredible. It was truly an experience to appreciate and treasure.”
Date Added: 5/21/2024