4 Apr 2002
Booker T. Washington High School Jazz Combo Hopes to Win Honor of Playing at Jazz Festival, April 6
DALLAS–The Dallas Independent School District's Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts jazz combo to compete for the honor of playing at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September. At stake: fame, scholarships, record contracts.
Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts jazz combo is one of only six high school small-group combos in the nation selected to compete in the 32nd Annual Monterey Jazz Festival High School Jazz competition.
The group will leave the D/FW Airport Thursday, April 4, at 12:50 p.m. on American Airlines Flight 2433 and will return to Dallas Sunday, April 7 at 11:37 p.m. on American Airlines Flight 2466.
Booker T. Washington's six-member combo will take the stage in Monterey, California, on April 6 at 10:30 a.m. to earn the opportunity to perform at the prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival Sept. 20-22. The winning combo will be announced April 6 at 10 p.m. in the Monterey Room.
Last year, the school's Jazz Combo I – a senior, a junior and four sophomores – swept all the awards in their category at the high school contest, winning Best Instrumental Soloist, Best Rhythm Section Player and Best Jazz Group .
The group has won many other awards, including Down Beat Magazine's Best Jazz Combo in North America in 2001, said Bart Marantz, the group's music director.
"When the students in Booker T. Washington's jazz program win national and international competitions and awards, they are immediately sought after by colleges and representatives of major record labels," he said.
As part of the weekend competition, individual musicians can audition for a chair on the Monterey Jazz Festival High School All-Star Big Band. Members of the band will tour Japan during the summer, performing with some of their professional counterparts.
In addition, the high school musicians can audition for the Jimmy Lyons Scholarship, a full tuition scholarship to Berklee School of Music in Boston.
For information on the winners, call the Festival office at 831.373.3366.