Mountlake Terrace High School Jazz 1 is in New York this week to perform at the Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival and Competition. They will perform Friday, May 9, in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Appel Room. The session starts at 9 a.m. Pacific and Mountlake Terrace will perform around 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday night, the students participated in the opening cheer tunnel where they and all the bands were welcomed. They participated in a Q&A with Wynton Marsalis before enjoying dinner with musicians from the other 29 bands participating in the festival. The evening concluded with a jam session. Five musicians from each band were mixed into 16 different small jazz groups. Each jam session included a member from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
On Thursday, Mountlake Terrace rehearsed with internationally reclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center bassist Carlos Henriquez. He provided positive feedback and tips on performing in the Appel Room, a new venue for this year’s festival.
The afternoon kicked off the Essentially Ellington performances. Fourteen bands performed Thursday in the two venues. It was an opportunity to enjoy the diversity of talent from around the world.
You can watch Mountlake Terrace High School Jazz 1 live on the Jazz Live website.
These young musicians are awesome! I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to listen to them perform!
This is terrific for the MTHS and the community.