Jazz musicians return to live shows

CONCERT REVIEW /// Agoura High School Jazz Program
A capella groups add holiday harmony



TROUBADOUR—Student Aidan Farrell solos on the sax in the recent concert with the Agoura High Jazz Program at the school’s PAEC. Courtesy photo

TROUBADOUR—Student Aidan Farrell solos on the sax in the recent concert with the Agoura High Jazz Program at the school’s PAEC. Courtesy photo

Spring 2019 was a long, long time ago, but that’s how long it’s been since the vaunted Agoura High School jazz program was featured in a live in-person concert.

Led by directors Chad Bloom and Robert Hackett, the school’s four units performed Dec. 15 at the school’s Performing Arts Education Center.

Many of the students wore special masks that are made for players of wind instruments. In addition, students used double-layered nylon bell covers on their horns to keep air particles from escaping the instrument without altering the pitch or sound quality.

The concert began with the Jazz A and Jazz B bands, which consist of high school freshmen and sophomores.

Bloom and Hackett alternated as leaders in the four-song set. The first three numbers were written and arranged by Sammy Nestico, best known for his arrangements for the Count Basie orchestra.

“Fancy Pants” featured excellent solos by Deanne Blakeman on trumpet and Megan Zhao on piano. “Orange Sherbert,” named for Basie’s favorite dessert (the title deliberately misspelled) featured Ariya Rouzbahani on trumpet and Spencer Griggs on piano while “Front Burner,” a 12- bar blues led by Hackett, chugged along at medium boil.

The band finished with John Klenner’s jazz standard “Just Friends.”

Studio Gold took over for the remainder of the first half of the concert. Directed by Hackett, this band, comprised of juniors, seniors and advanced freshmen and sophomores, was spiced with the unusual additions of a French horn (played by Marvel Roth) and a violin (Ella Afshari), although neither took solos. It’s valuable to have nontraditional jazz instrumentalists gain experience by being allowed to participate in a conventional jazz band, so we give credit to Hackett for adding them. The group began with the familiar trumpet/alto sax lead on Nat Adderley’s “Work Song,” followed by Freddie Hubbard’s Latin-tinged “Crisis.”

On “Easy Money,” written by Benny Carter for the Count Basie band, the group changed the pace by slowing the tempo down, propelled by a walking bass. Gordon Goodwin’s “Stay in Your Lane” anchored the set, featuring a nice alto sax solo by Gavin Russell.

Part two of the concert began with a pair of a cappella vocal groups.

The quartet calling themselves the Madrigals (pronounced “Madri-gals” because of its four female members) are an extracurricular group that rehearses on its own after school. They chose to ring in the season with a set of holiday songs, including “Carol of the Bells,” “Silver Bells,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Oh Hanukkah” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

The group is comprised of Lauren Hinderstein, Anna Hiskey, Ava Hoshyarsar and Gigi Velloso.

Following them was Agourapella, a 16-group unit (12 girls and four boys) who sang Pentatonix’s stunning “White Winter Hymnal” and an intricate version of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”

The concert concluded with Studio Blue. That group and Studio Gold are the school’s premiere jazz groups.

Retired music teacher John Mosley still conducts clinics for the school. Mosley said Agoura High is the only high school that had two groups selected to participate in the Essential Ellington competition and festival in New York City and the Swing Central workshop and competition in Savannah, Georgia.

Studio Blue performed two Duke Ellington tunes: “Such Sweet Thunder”—from Ellington’s suite based on the works of Shakespeare, featuring the strutting trumpet of Charles Bladon—and “Chinoiserie.”

The evening’s highlight came on Basie’s lazy and sultry “Blue and Sentimental,” with a gorgeous, smoky tenor sax solo by Aidan Farrell.

Mosley informed us that Farrell is heading to the New England Conservatory of Music, telling us, “He can go anywhere he wants to go,” and we believe him.

The concert closed with a scintillating performance of Benny Carter’s “Movin’ Uptown.”