Kim Bain - Jazz Chair
ALL-STATE JAZZ BAND Greetings! I hope everyone had a relaxing summer and a great start to the school year. In addition to your many marching band activities, fall is the time to help your students prepare for Alabama All-State Jazz Band auditions. Please check the ABA website for audition requirements and
registration information. High school students are required to perform a recorded audition consisting of two jazz standards (including some improvisation), an etude, and several scales. Middle school students will perform only one jazz standard with improvisation, etude, and scales. Students should be able to improvise after learning just a few scales, so please do not let them be intimidated by the improvisation component. We will have three high school bands again this year (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) and one middle school band. Last year we had over 200 students audition, and we hope to see continued growth. Please encourage your students to audition for the band.
We will be using a new procedure for submitting student auditions this year. Directors will forward registration forms and fees after which they will receive a link for submitting their students’ recordings using Dropbox. All the directions on how to submit audition recordings are at
http://www.myamea.org/ABA/all-state-jazz-band/
Remember to allow enough preparation time to get recordings completed by November 1, 2017.
ALL-STATE JAZZ CLINICIANS I am excited to report that we have four outstanding clinicians for the 2018 all-state jazz bands.
Dr. Gordon Towell will be directing the Gold Band. Dr. Towell, coordinator of Jazz Studies at Loyola University, directs the Jazz Band I, jazz combos and teaches jazz history, arranging/composition, and improvisation. He holds a Bachelor of Education in music from the University of Alberta, a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from Indiana University, and a Doctor of Music Education with a cognate in Jazz Studies from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He has taught at the University of Cincinnati, Morehead State University, Indiana University, Kenyon College, and Grant MacEwan College. He also finds time to adjudicate, guest solo, and perform with national and international artists and conducts throughout U.S and Canada.
Dr. Michael Pendowski will be directing the Silver Band. Dr. Pendowski is the Professor of Saxophone and the Director of the Jazz Program at Auburn University. His career has encompassed a wide variety of musical styles and venues. He is a prominent composer in the educational field, writing for the full spectrum of ensembles available in today’s schools and universities. In addition, he has composed, arranged, and produced over a dozen albums; has scored for off-Broadway productions and animated features, including the
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“Getting to Know the Artist” Series. Dr. Pendowski has worked extensively as a freelance performer, appearing with Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis, Aretha Franklin, Carol Lawrence, Louis Bellson, George Shearing, Ray Charles, The Four Freshmen, and The Jazz Orchestra.
Mr. Chris Gordon will be directing the Bronze Band. Mr. Gordon is a professional musician who has spent the last 40 years performing, recording, composing, arranging, producing, and publishing or conducting music. He has been involved in advertisements for radio and television, theater productions, industrial films, and recordings in the genres of R&B as well as big band and small group jazz. His published works for jazz ensemble are in the catalog of Kendor Music Publishing. He composed for the Tonight Show Band, directed by Doc Severinsen, during the Johnny Carson years. He regularly performs on piano and trumpet on stages all over the US, backing up member groups in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, including The Temptations, The O’Jays, The Four Tops, The Spinners, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, The Impressions, Mary Wilson of The Supremes, and Martha Reeves and The Vandellas. Most recently, he produced the Steve Sample Legacy Project for JRL-SGS Records in Los Angeles.
Dr. Mark Foster will be directing the middle school jazz band. Dr. Mark Foster is the band director at Mountain Brook Junior High School in Birmingham, Alabama and has taught band for 27 years. He previously taught in the Jefferson County School System as band director at Gardendale High School and assistant band director at Hueytown High School. Bands under his leadership have consistently earned superior ratings and best-in-class awards at the district, state, and regional levels. Dr. Foster holds the Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Education degrees from The University of Alabama. He also holds National Board Certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. He has served as guest honor band clinician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Montevallo, the University of Georgia, and Mobile County. As a trombone player, he has performed with the Temptations, The O’Jays, the Alabama Ballet Orchestra, the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of Birmingham’s Superjazz Big Band and is also a founding member of the Renaissance Trombone Ensemble in Birmingham, Alabama.
All four of these clinicians are truly top-notch jazz educators. I am confident they will provide an excellent experience for our students.
Please feel free to contact me (
bainka@vestavia.k12.al.us) if I can be of assistance to you with your jazz programs, and I hope you will encourage your students to audition for the all-state jazz ensembles.
Have a great school year! 35
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