Featured

UPDATE: Roosevelt Jazz Band Auditions for 2016-17

by

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.

RHS Jazz wins multiple awards at Essentially Ellington!

by

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

Jazz Jam Sessions Begin Oct. 14

by

We have our first jam session of the school year scheduled for Oct. 14!

The Roosevelt Jazz program will once again hold monthly jam sessions at the Stone Way Cafe. These sessions, which are held on the second Wednesday of the month, are a chance for the musicians to try playing in a combo and soloing in a supportive club setting. Musicians from all four groups are welcome. They should bring their instruments (except for rhythm section) and their Real Books. People will rotate in and out, depending upon who shows up on a given night. Michael Van Bebber is coordinating the session.

This year, jam sessions will have a new twist with regular guest mentor band, The Cantaloupes. Our first gathering will start on October 14 with The Cantaloupes playing from 6:30 to 7:30 followed by the jam session from 7:30 to 9:30.

Additionally the Cantaloupes will be playing on Oct 28th at 7:30. RHS students are welcome to play too.

We plan on continuing having twice monthly sessions on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays. Please come on out!

Stone Way Cafe, http://www.stonewaycafe.com/
3510 Stone Way North
Seattle, WA 98103
206-420-4435

Welcome to our new JB2/3 Director

by

We are very excited to welcome Michael Van Bebber as our JB2/3 director!

Michael was raised in Seattle, and graduated from the University of Washington before going on to earn two M.A. degrees in classical trumpet and composition at Truman State University, and a D.M.A. in Jazz Studies from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. He performed many years as a member of the renowned Eastman Jazz Ensemble, and has shared the stage with many notable jazz artists including Lee Konitz, John Pizzarelli, the Woody Herman Band, Walt Weiskopf, Chuck Mangione, Jeff Beal, Walter White, John Fedchock, Pat LaBarbara, Marvin Stamm, and Bill Dobbins. He has also appeared several times at the Rochester International Jazz Festival, in both quintet and big band settings.

Michael is a member of the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. As a composer, he has earned several prestigious awards in composition, including the 2004 MACRO Composition/Theory Award, the 2005 CBDNA Wind Ensemble National Composition Competition, the 2005 College Music Society’s International Composition Competition. Michael has been the director of the Junior Jazz Band at Washington Middle School, the Director of Bands at Liberty High School and the interim director for JB2 last year. Michael is currently on the faculty of Northwest school.