By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Renowned jazz artists will take the stage – and bleachers – alongside student jazz musicians for this year’s abridged version of Sitka Jazz Fest.
“We wanted to keep something going,” said Blatchley Middle School music director Drew Larson, “because it’s been such a positive thing for students to have world-class artists come up and work with them and share their expertise.”
The central event this year will be a concert Saturday at the Sitka Performing Arts Center.
“It’s Jazz Fest, it’s just scaled down,” Larson said.
Larson and Sitka High music director Andrew Hames describe this year’s fest as a “transition year” and an “abridged” version of an event that dates to 1995, when Sitka High School music director Brad Howey launched “jazz nights.”
The best elements will still be here: visiting professional musicians, tutorials with students, performances where students play alongside the professionals, and opportunities for local musicians to hone their solo skills.
Jazz Fest was canceled in 2021 but it came back last year, with the Kyle Athayde Dance Party as featured musicians. Mike Kernin retired as head of the SHS music program last spring, but is still the director of the festival, and booked the talent this year, in consultation with Larson and Hames.
“We’re just gradually bringing it back in smaller chunks,” Hames said. “But the level of visiting musicians is just as awesome as it has ever been.”
Three members of the Athayde family are here: bandleader and multifaceted musician Kyle, sister Ellie on bass and vocals, and father Bob on trumpet. They’ll be joined by New York City-based Eddie Barbash, who plays alto saxophone.
Professional musician Kyle Athayde, standing, plays trumpet with the Sitka High School jazz band this morning before school. Kyle and his father, Bob, and sister Ellie are in town for a scaled-down Sitka Jazz Fest. The Jazz Fest concert will be this Saturday at the Performing Arts Center. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
Bob Athayde has been coming to Sitka since 2001 from the Oakland, California, area. He taught at Sitka Fine Arts Camp for 15 years, and since 2002 has been a teacher and performer at the Sitka Jazz Fest. Athayde said it’s a trip he looks forward to every year.
“We’re coming out of COVID - and it’s like being born again.” he said. “The energy is so great - the high school jazz band sounds great, choir and middle school band sounds great.” His trip this year is being sponsored by the Julia Burke Foundation of Layfayette, California.
The concert is free but a donation of $10 is suggested, with proceeds to go to local music programs.
An informal jam session with students and professional musicians will take place in the high school band room and is open to student musicians.
Friday will be perhaps the most unusual performance, with the four professional musicians joining the Sitka High pep band at Mt. Edgecumbe High School for the Sitka High v. MEHS basketball game. Hames is working with Mt. Edgecumbe music teacher Heather Gluth on pieces to be played by the combined bands of the two high schools.
Saturday’s jazz fest show will include performances by student groups and feature the professional artists.
The visiting artists, some of whom have been coming to Sitka for decades, got an early start this morning, working with Blatchley and Sitka High jazz bands beginning at 7:15 a.m. They will be working with other groups as well, including the Sitka High concert band.
Larson and Hames said they’re eager to take advantage of the opportunity to host the visiting artists, even if a full Sitka Jazz Fest couldn’t take place.
“You get to take it up to another level with a visiting artist,” Hames said. “Even through they’re not jazz ensembles, they still have lots of knowledge and education they can pass down to the students. I’m also looking forward to learning just as much as the students will in these next couple of days.”
Larson said the value of performing jazz and other genres goes beyond the music, for the students.
“They learn how to work collaboratively with others, and that applies to other areas as well,” he said. “Learning how to practice something doesn’t just apply to your instrument but it applies to any skill. Working through adversity, being OK with making mistakes and learning from mistakes, being comfortable in front of a group of people – these are all skills that are really important to everybody. Outside of just the value of music and self-expression, having a way to decompress is also important for some people. ... It’s just a different form of engaging with yourself and others.”
Kernin said he is planning a meeting this winter or spring for volunteers interested in charting a course for the future of the festival.
