The Jazz Ensemble’s concert alongside the Delano jazz band featuring the acclaimed jazz musician, Denis DiBlasio on April 14 was a memorable one.
“This concert was different because we had the Delano Jazz orchestra playing in our school, which is a professional group that’s around the Wichita area,” freshman Jacob Oliver said. “They’re very good and on top of that we had a special guest artist, Denis DiBlasio, who’s a widely known baritone saxophone player, composer, etc.”
Oliver not only plays the valve trombone for the jazz band, but the baritone as well.
“I’d say meeting Denis was very special, not just for me, but for everyone there because he’s very influential,” he said, “(and) just being able to hear the music in general was very cool.”
Other jazz members such as sophomore Vicente Aiken who plays the drum set agreed.
I put in a ton of hours, so the approval (and) even just the thumbs up (Denis) gave me feels really good,” Aiken said. “It feels really good knowing the time I put into (jazz) doesn’t go to waste.”
As seen at the concert, Delano’s and Denis’ impact greatly influences both the high school and middle school students to play on while improving their abilites.
“I think (the middle schoolers playing) was pretty sick because I didn’t get that opportunity when I was in middle school, but it would have helped further encourage me and a lot of them came up to me and said, ‘Dude, I can’t wait to be in band next year.’” Aiken said, “Part of the reason I’m in band is to inspire other people.”
Overall, the concert was a wonderful experience for everyone involved because there was so much fun and learning immersed into the concert.
“(The concert) was really positive because all the middle schoolers have never really been here, so it was fun to talk with them and we were messing around in the band room before just improvising and playing with rhythms,” freshman trombone player, Rimingtin Pickles said. “Then, playing with some of the Delano members that came in and worked with us during the week was a really positive thing — we learned a lot and it was really fun to play with them.”
