Audition Music Now Available!

Hello Jazz families and musicians,

You can find the music for students preparing for jazz band auditions below.  Please note:

  • There is separate music for sax and brass
  • Solar should be learned by all auditioning students (sax, brass and rhythm)
  • ALL sax, brass, and rhythm students should also prepare a SHORT excerpt of a jazz piece of their own choosing.
  • No additional music other than Solar for rhythm.

2016 Audition Music:

INSTRUCTIONS From Mr. Brown

Saxes and Brass:

  1. Learn the medium swing written excerpt. Play with swing articulation, keep a steady medium swing tempo, and play expressively!
  2. Learn the melody and changes to Miles Davis’ Solar. You will play the melody; then improvise for a maximum of two choruses.
  3. Play a jazz excerpt of your choice which showcases your abilities as a jazz musician.

All Rhythm Section players:

  1. Learn the melody and changes to Miles Davis’ Solar. You will perform this piece multiple times with various combinations of players, during the Rhythm Section Auditions on FRIDAY, June 17th.
  2. Play a jazz excerpt of your choice which showcases your abilities as a jazz musician.
  3. Basses, guitarists, pianists and drummers may be asked to demonstrate skills which are fundamental to playing jazz on your specific instrument.

The most important thing for all players is that you play with a mature, confident, swinging sound! It should be evident to us that you listen to jazz, and understand the sounds and vocabulary that are fundamental to playing this music. We understand that you might be nervous. Just do your best!

Thanks for auditioning for Roosevelt Jazz… Good Luck!

Brown and Van Bebber

UPDATE: Roosevelt Jazz Band Auditions for 2016-17

NOTE: Date changed for rhythm section auditions, and details changed for Vocal Jazz auditions.

June 12 – Incoming freshman; sax and brass: 11:00am.
June 13 – Returning Roosevelt students; sax: 2:45pm.
June 14 – Returning Roosevelt students; brass: 2:45pm.
June 17 – Incoming freshman & returning students; rhythm section: 2:45pm

We acknowledge that middle school students may be a little late due to travel time. More information will be available soon on the rooseveltjazz.org website under the Events tab.

Audition music will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.

Vocal Jazz Auditions:
Students entering grades 9-12 who are not currently enrolled in Vocal Jazz at Roosevelt are welcome to audition.  This includes incoming 9th graders who have had vocal jazz experience in middle school.

There is a sign up sheet posted on the bulletin board outside of the band room for Vocal Jazz Auditions. Auditions will run from 2:45 – 3:35 on Monday, June 6th, Tuesday, June 7th and Wednesday, June 8th. Please sign up if you are interested.

There is no audition material for Vocal Jazz.  Students will be asked to fill out a form when they arrive at their audition. Auditions will consist of: matching pitch with a strong, steady, mature sound; quickly learning a melody; improvising over blues changes. You are not required to prepare a song. Sound, accuracy, style and improvisation are the priorities. Any student admitted to Roosevelt Vocal Jazz for the 2016-2017 school year must commit to BOTH semesters.

JB3 Wins Bellevue Jazz Festival Awards

Congratulations to Jazz Band 3 for winning first place in their division at Bellevue Jazz Festival!

In addition, three of our soloists received outstanding solo awards:

Tenor Sax – James Pettis

Bari Sax – David Tabakian

Trumpet – Will Knight

Congratulations Jazz Band 3 and soloists!

RHS Jazz wins multiple awards at Essentially Ellington!

Congratulations to RHS Jazz Band 1 for receiving multiple awards at EE!

  • Outstanding Sax Section
  • Jesse Beckett-Herbert: Outstanding clarinet
  • Elliot Halpern: Outstanding Tenor Sax
  • Porter Jones: Outstanding Trombone & Outstanding Soloist
  • Ravi Sharma: Outstanding Guitarist
  • Santosh Sharma: Outstanding Bass Clarinet & Honorable Mention Tenor Sax

Well done!!!

Related: Seattle Times article