Six bands representing three different high schools - and one batch of professional musician special guests - took part in the 2010 NorMan Jazz Festival's final concert, held Nov. 14 at the Letkemann Theatre.
The festival brought together bands from R.D. Parker Collegiate, as well as high schools in Flin Flon and The Pas - another group, from Swan Valley, was supposed to take part but bowed out a few days before citing weather concerns - for a series of intensive workshops with eight clinicians from southern Manitoba over the course of the weekend, leading up to a chance to show off their new skills at the final concert.
"It was fantastic," said event organizer and R.D. Parker band teacher Kevin Lewis. "We have a lot of tired kids, but they got a lot out of this weekend. A lot of them are riding a bit of a high; they're just loving what they worked on. They're very enthusiastic and they're ready to get to back to work on some new stuff now."
The first group to show off their new skills was the Flin Flon Junior Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Anna Jardine, which performed an arrangement of Sonny Rollins' Sonnymoon For Two. They were followed by the R.D. Parker Junior Jazz Ensemble, with Lewis as conductor, which served up two songs including Duke Ellington's popular swing standard It Don't Mean a Thing
The Kim Jones-directed Flin Flon Intermediate Jazz Ensemble was up next, performing two recognizable classics in Green Onions and Funkytown before ceding the stage to The Pas Senior Jazz Ensemble, the lone group to travel from The Pas for the festival. Under the direction of Martyn Snell, who will be retiring after this year, this group performed The Beatles' Hey Jude, which Snell introduced as "from my own town of Liverpool," and a version of Blues and More arranged by Snell himself.
After a brief intermission, the Flin Flon Senior Jazz Ensemble took to the stage with Jones as conductor, playing two pieces, including Pick Up the Pieces - a well-known funk ditty, which has been, used in many movies and TV shows. The last student band to perform was the Adrenaline Jazz Ensemble, the senior jazz band at R.D. Parker, again directed by Lewis. They also performed two pieces, including Ran Kan Kan, a Tito Puente mamba which was heavy on percussion, with bongo drums, conga drums, and claves backing the rhythm section.
Finally, the clinicians took to the stage for an improvisation-heavy four-song set. The group featured Brandon University professors Greg Gatien (alto saxophone) and Michael Cain (keyboards), along with Winnipeg-based East Side Jazz Band members Anna Penno (alto saxophone), Dan Steinhilber (trumpet), Jeni Taylor (trumpet), Hugh Grenier (trombone), Jesse Dietschi (stand-up bass), and Robert Balacko (drums). Their repertoire included a B-flat blues jam, as well as closing out the show with Strasbourg/St. Denis, a composition by renowned American trumpeter Roy Hargrove.
"We're very lucky to have wonderful musicians like them up in Thompson, and they put on a great performance as well," said Lewis.
Gatien also took a moment to address the audience. "This is a very nice group of people," he said of his co-clinicians. "I'm sure the students feel the same way I do. I'm grateful just to get the opportunity to be in the same place as these people at the same time."
Describing the students as "a delight to work with," Gatien also praised the support of volunteer Thompsonites who prepared the school for the festival, drove the clinicians to and from their hotel, and prepared meals for them. "It's astonishing, the level of support that there is in this community," he said.
