The pandemic years have been especially difficult for young jazz musicians, at their best performing shoulder to shoulder in big bands. Under the direction of Jake Bergevin, the Edmonds-Woodway High School jazz band showed few signs of rust in a KNKX School of Jazz performance in North Bend.
Bergevin praised the determination and dedication of this year's band. Proving his point was a talented quartet of Edmonds-Woodway's finest on stage at Boxley's with top brass player Jerome Smith acting as mentor.
Led by the confident senior Talli Kimani on alto saxophone, Smith was joined on the front line by Nick Reinhadt on tenor saxophone, Don Tran on upright bass, and recent School of Jazz guest DJ Max Bartron drumming.
Jerome Smith is a veteran brass player, but a recent arrival to the Seattle area. He came away with a new appreciation for the legacy of Northwest jazz education, in which the Edmonds-Woodway program plays a major role.
The young musicians were finally back together in the band room at EWHS this year and talked about how important the jazz band was to their return to school. As for their prior days in remote learning, Kimani and Bartron both explained how listening to jazz kept him inspired.
The EWHS ensemble played three diverse tunes in the cozy confines of Boxley's and made a massive sound from their smartly arranged quintet.
1. Bolivia (Cedar Walton)
2. Walk the Earth (Jerome Smith)
3. The Theme (Miles Davis)
