State College Area High School Jazz Band at the 2003 Jazz a Vienne festival in Vienne, France.
I have to give it up: my high school music program was incredible. No small thanks go to the legendary educators that steered the ship; the band, the experiences and the music have left an indelible mark on my musical life.
With the State High Jazz Band, I got to travel the world, play some great music, and learn with some of the best musicians around. I also had some of my first professional recording experiences with this group, and this is one of them.
Recorded on a snowy February day in State College, PA, this was our entrance application to the 2004 Essentially Ellington competition at New York's Lincoln Center. The arrangements are direct transcriptions of original Ellington recordings from the 1940s, and you can listen to a sample below.