A confident septet of teenagers from the jazz band at the Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences took over the KNKX studios with their mentor, Steve Treseler featured on sax.
Treseler has a new tribute to trumpeter Kenny Wheeler ready for release in the New Year, but he had to keep his wits about him with this group.
A talented pair of saxophones are featured up front, Alli Wickland on tenor and our School of Jazz guest DJ from last Winter, P.J. Colino on alto. Former drummer Zach Cohen showed off impressive skills on vibraphone, and Axel Hejlsberg's electric ukulele added a fresh sound to the ensemble.
Senior Nick Heymann kept it all together behind the drum kit, with the youngest members of the band shining on piano (Clayton Wiley) and upright bass (Tito Rios Viche).
They reminded us of the powerful communication required of jazz musicians, trading solos and joined in unison through the lovely Sam Rivers tune "Beatrice", Freddie Hubbard's flowing soft groover "Little Sunflower", and a swingin' Shorty Rogers number called "Shortstop".
Steve Treseler's solos promise an exciting year to come, with his promised new album. Students like these kids from the Seattle Academy are lucky to have him lending his talents to jazz education in the Northwest.
Often overshadowed by their school's popular vocal group, the kids from the Seattle Academy's jazz all-stars proved that there's equally exciting music being made by the instrumentalists there.