By Taylor Williams

“Man, if you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know.” – Louis Armstrong

Marching band season has ended, the uniforms have been cleaned and put neatly back in place, and now, for some students, it’s time to focus on a totally new style of music: Jazz.

Jazz is said to be the only truly American style of music.  It developed from from the stylings of local marching bands in New Orleans in the early twentieth century, making it perfect for student's who have just spent 3 months marching.  To say that Jazz hasn't evolved from it's marching roots would be a vast understatement, and many people are surprised when they learn of the correlation between the two.

Not many students go out for jazz band because only certain instruments are used, flutes, tubas, and clarinets, some of the most popular instruments, don’t typically have

parts in jazz music.  Some students have to take up a second instrument.

“I play bass trombone during jazz season,” said Nick Escalante, freshmen.  Escalante usually plays tuba, and the low range of a tuba makes it easier for him to play bass trombone.

Since Jazz is extra curricular, students have to spend a lot of time outside of school, getting up before dawn to rehearse in the mornings and sometimes, at night after school.  All this time spent playing and practicing outside of school might seem a little much, but most students enjoy every minute of it.

“Getting up early is not easy, but it is worth missing an hour of sleep to be in jazz band,”  said Thomas Bieber, sophmore.

This is the predominant cheerfulness that fills the band room ever Tuesday and Thursday morning. It's the spirit that drives kids to wake up at six in the morning when they don't have too.  It's the gleam of instruments coming out of their cases before the sun comes up.  Simply put: it's Jazz.

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