By Caroline Wang
On Wednesday, May 20th the East music wing put on the locally famed Legends of Jazz show, one of East’s most popular productions, second only to Winterfest. Like every year, the auditorium was packed—and not just with proud parents.
Here at East, every May the music department contracts a nationally acclaimed jazz celebrity (or even two) to come play with our students. In past years, John Pizzarelli, Jane Monheit, Cyrus Chestnut and Kevin Mahogany have all been featured; this year, Karrin Allyson, vocalist, and Houston Person, tenor saxophonist, were our stars.
Allyson, a four time Grammy award nominee, has released 12 albums with Concord Records and tours extensively both within the United States and internationally. Person has released over 75 albums with Prestige Records and is known for his “distinctive sassy sound” and work in soul jazz.
The students in the Jazz program—the WEHS Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Band, and Jazz Improvisation classes—got to work with Allyson and Person in rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday before the concert. Despite the fact that they only had three weeks to prepare the jazz charts (and two of them AP weeks) the hard work they put in paid off. Both stars were highly impressed with the East music program, with Allyson going as far as to say that “the jazz orchestra here is better than a lot of college orchestras.”
The first half of the concert featured soloists and jazz combos from the Jazz Improvisation classes; the second half showcased the Jazz Orchestra and three student singers—Anna Kresse, Adam Kluge, and Anjor Khadilkar.
Afterwards, the two stars autographed CDs.
According to Melissa Li, “It was an amazing performance. Houston and Karrin had great chemistry together as they played. It was such a unique experience. Houston has a very bright personality.” He wasn’t the only one either. According to Claire Kim, “Karrin really had a great voice and an amazing stage presence.”
The Legends of Jazz concert is a unique Williamsville East experience. No other school in the Erie County area offers such an amazing opportunity for the community or their students to interact with renowned jazz professionals
