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Dreyfoos Jazz is Battle of the Bands’ Best Palm Beach County’s Premiere Arts School Takes Top Prize in county-wide competition.

BOCA RATON, FL - 04.05.12 - It was billed as the final round of the “Battle of the Bands.” At stake: A $1,500 first prize to add to prize money handed out to winning middle and high school jazz bands of the prior rounds by the Jazz and Swing Preservation Society, a non-profit promoter of jazz in Boca Raton.

The middle school contenders: Don Estridge High Tech Middle School, and Omni Middle School

The two high school bands: Park Vista High School of Boynton Beach and the A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach.

The first bout on the card, the middle school round, was very evenly matched.

Two of the county’s best middle school band directors, Michael Fraley at Don Estridge, and William Castillo from Omni and their bands squared off.

One panel of judges. Three songs each.

Fraley’s band went first. They played well to a packed house of enthusiastic jazz fans who were particularly impressed with their musicianship.

“You hear how they handle those horns,” said a retired trumpet player with more than 40 years of professional playing, a fairly typical comment as the bands changed. “I thought they all just listened to synthesized music, but they can play.”

Then Omni took the stage. Castillo’s band had a great sound, some exceptional soloists and arrangements that fit his band to a T. That slight edge would carry the Panthers to the winner’s circle later that evening.

As some in the crowd mulled over how you could top the first two bands, Park Vista took the stage.

Each of the three pieces performed were big, showy, in-your-face arrangements with lots of crowd-pleasing solos and section features that kicked the whole evening up a BIG notch.

The crowd was on its feet, applauding away, as retired musician Bill Mazur exclaimed: “That was as good as it gets! The next band will have to go a long way to beat that!”

Then the elite Jazz Ensemble I (JE1) of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts took the stage.

Eighteen of the Palm Beach’s best student musicians, who come from all around the county, these young performers spend countless hours playing and improving their musicianship to earn a shot at the handful of spots in one of the premiere high school jazz bands in one of the top public arts schools in the nation: The Jazz Ensemble 1 (JE1).

This 2012 edition, unbeknownst to most of the audience, is arguably one of Dreyfoos’ best ever. Three players taking the stage, trumpeter Christian Marrero, and tenor saxophonists Holden Ross and Phillip Ahn, set a DSOA Band Department record when all three were named to the elite 2012 All-State Jazz Band: Eighteen students selected in

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The elite Jazz Ensemble I of the A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts performs in the finals of the Swing & Jazz Preservation Society’s “Battle of the Bands”Photo: Cheryl Ross

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blind auditions out of thousands from throughout the state of Florida.

Marrero, who will attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass., this fall, selected to the 2011 Student Grammy® Band and the 2012 Jazz Band of America, is one of the best young trumpeters in the nation.

In his second year as Director of Bands, Evan Rogovin reshaped the jazz program, naming Pedro Hernandez-Ibarra as the Director of Jazz Studies.

Hernandez-Ibarra, a gifted jazz composer and arranger in his own right, powers up both the JE1 and its feeder, the 0 Hour Jazz Band. The JE1 also gets a lot of lift in its sound from DSOA’s Artist in Residence program, most notably from Michael Forte, the private instructor for saxophonists and clarinetists who also teaches jazz combos that help feed the big bands with great ensemble players.

The JE1’s director caught Park Vista’s big show, and made a few tweaks to his program that fit his quiet, authoritative approach to the music.

The Dreyfoos band didn’t open with a bang. It began its first piece in the trio with a powerful whisper.

JE1 pianist Ben Batalla led off “All of Me” with a delicate piano solo that was accentuated by a short punch from the rest of the band. From that moment on, there was silence and wonder as a packed house of jazz fans watched the future of the music that they love play it with a timeless passion.

The JE1 delivered style with “All of Me,” then served an up-tempo, big, rich rendition of the standard “Sweet Georgia Brown.” They closed with Mark Taylor’s “Full Count,” an up-tempo swing tune that featured an old-school tenor battle with Ross and Ahn.

The depth of the band was in evidence throughout. Batalla, Marrero, Ross, and Ahn played their usually strong solos. Manny Ramirez, Alex Lacy, Adesh Balraj, and a strong outing by bassist Vince Moore showed their depth and range with some impressive solos.

The JE1 is also blessed with two of the top high school percussionists in Florida: The technician, Murph Aucamp who brings crisp, authoritative play, and the jazz hands of 14 year-old freshman Tyson Jackson, who has the potential to become the top high school jazz drummer in Florida.

The JEI is one of four exceptional bands, an orchestra, piano and choral programs that make up the music department at Dreyfoos.

This year, DSOA Band students have been accepted to Oberlin College, NYU’s Steinhardt School of Music, Berklee School of Music, Frost School of Music (U. Miami), Peabody Conservatory, and many more.

With 197 points to Park Vista’s 191, Dreyfoos’ Jazz Ensemble 1 was named the winner of the Palm Beach County Battle of the Bands.

Both bands received a check for $1,000 for their outstanding performances. The winner received an additional check for $500, while the runner up received $300.

In all, the Swing and Jazz Preservation Society donated $22,800 to jazz bands in the Palm Beach County School system.

The competition also meant a record turnout for the annual Music Performance Assessments held by District 14 of the Florida Bandmasters Association, the gateway to the final round.

While Dreyfoos will have to sit out 2013’s “Battle of the Bands,” Rogovin and Hernandez-Ibarra continue to explore other opportunities for their concert and jazz bands to perform. Look to see the Dreyfoos Jazz Ensemble 1 at other local, state, and national events next year.

Dreyfoos Jazz is Battle of the Bands’ Best Palm Beach County’s Premiere Arts School Takes Top Prize in county-wide competition.

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PHOTO: Jennifer Ahn

SWEET: All-State tenor saxophonist Holden Ross brings nuance to the solo in “Sweet Georgia Brown”

HOT: All-State trumpeter Christian Marrero takes the high highs to “Full Count”