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Music extravaganza: Jazz band to feature guest soloist
The Advocate
Tradition continues Tuesday as the Mt. Hood Community College music department prepares for its end of term Jazz Night concert.
“It’s going to be lively and fun jazz,” said Jones. “Since it’s our end of term concert, it’s kind of a culmination of what we’ve been working on the entire term — we prepare music, spend quite a bit of time playing it, and then we perform it.”
This culminating event will showcase the various student talents of MHCC’s Jazz Band 1, Jazz Band 2 and Genesis. Accompanying the school’s arsenal of musicians will be guest solo-artist Scott Whitfield on the trombone.
“Whitfield (the guest artist) will be in the area playing some shows, and I think he wanted to stay in the area, so he called us and asked if he could play with us, so we said sure,” said Jones, admitting that the timing worked out nicely with the scheduled Jazz Night.
Whitfield has been playing jazz trombone since the 1980s, and is internationally recognized for his work as a musician, composer, arranger, vocalist, conductor and producer.
According to Jones, the addition of a guest artist will raise the already high level of performance from the MHCC jazz department.
“We generally put on a good jazz concert here (MHCC), and I think with the addition of a guest artist, the audience will be very well entertained. He (Scott Whitfield) will bring us to a new level,” said Jones.
Freshman Jazz Band member JJ Meyer said, “It’s always high energy, but it’s more relaxed than our classical performances. It’s just fun. It’s a music party on stage.”
The event be held in the College Theater at 7 p.m. and tickets will cost $5 for students and $10 for community members. For more information on the Jazz Night concert, contact Susie Jones at 503-491-7158.