All City High School Jazz Ensemble and Northlanders Sizzle

Last night, the All City High School Jazz Ensemble and Augustana College Northlanders Jazz Band performed at Kresge Auditorium to a nearly full house.

The All City program was established 8 years ago by the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society and features a select group of high school musicians nominated by their band directors with a focus on the art of jazz improvisation. A high school group is selected and performs in the fall with a middle school program scheduled each spring.

Yamaha artist, trumpeter and composer Jeff Jarvis returned to Sioux Falls and held clinics with both groups and performed as a guest soloist. Mr. Jarvis was most recently in Sioux Falls playing with the Northlanders at the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival last July.

Mr. Jarvis sat in with the All City group for their entire set. He mentioned that as he flew in to Sioux Falls, he noticed all the agriculture in our area and noted that we also "grow good kids in South Dakota."

SFJB board president, Neal Eddy, awarded Lincoln High School senior trumpet player Jordan Hoffman the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society Scholarship for Higher Learning - a $1,000 award to help with college tuition to a state institution.

As part of the scholarship process, Jordan submitted a written essay to the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society. Here are a few excerpts that demonstrate his passion for jazz music:

"...to teach kids how to play jazz, we'll I'd pay to have that job and it truly will be a dream come true when it happens," said Jordan.

"Jazz education is essential. The torch is being passed on to my generation and many are ignoring its flame. I plan to take that torch, run with it and keep jazz alive because if jazz dies, then a part of me has too."

Jordan was also a recipient of the Mike Miller Lifetime Achievement Award Scholarship when he was an 8th grader playing in the All City Middle School Jazz Ensemble. He's truly a special kid and a heck of a trumpet player as well.

The Northlanders Jazz Band was smokin’! The band started and ended their set with a bari sax solo. Awesome! Combined with a sizzling rhythm section, accomplished vocalist and great solos peppered throughout their 8 song set – their sound was a wall of swinging greatness.

Its fun for us at the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society to see kids that were involved in the All City Jazz groups evolve in their musicianship. Three of the Northlanders players are alums of the All City program: Chris Borchardt (alto and soprano sax), Meredith Reynolds (tenor sax), and Collin Block (trumpet).

The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society would like to thank Dr. Paul Schilf, Ivan Fuller, Stan Eitrem and Augustana College; Jennifer Hawkinson band director at Washington High School, Robert Carlson band director at Lincoln High School, and Shane Macklin band director at Roosevelt High School. Thank you also to Ann Davis, Fine Arts Coordinator at Sioux Falls Public Schools.

The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society would also like to thank Yamaha Corporation for its sponsorship making Jeff Jarvis's appearance possible.

Who has been the loudest JazzFest set?

Dickey Betts in 2002. There were reports that his set was heard as far west as Wall Lake!

Who will be the loudest this year? Hear it for yourself at JazzFest July 18-19.

For more information visit the website at www.jazzfestsiouxfalls.com

Three weeks away! It's Free! It's Hot! Be Cool!

Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival - JazzFest History

JazzFest has been an annual event since 1988. The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival, JazzFest is a free, two-day music festival that features two stages and over 18 hours of music including jazz, blues, rock, reggae, foul, funk among other musical genres.

JazzFest is a unique event that relies on funding from over 50 local, regional and national sponsors and assistance of over 800 volunteers, making it one of the largest community events in the state.

Over its fifteen-year life, JazzFest has accumulated an impressive roster of performing acts consisting of Grammy Award winners, jazz and blues legends, and many of the most sought- after musicians in the world. Some past headlining performers at JazzFest include the Derek Trucks Band, the Robert Cray Band, Susan Tedeschi, Mavis Staples, John Hiatt, Koko Taylor, Dave Koz, Chris Botti, Bo Diddley, Kenny Wayne Shpperd, Los Lobos, Buddy Guy, the Neville Brothers and this year’s headliners include Taj Mahal and Jonny Lang.

JazzFest also offers other attractions at the festival, including a second stage featuring local and regional acts, a children’s area, an increased number and variety of vendors, and a poetry tent.

The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival, JazzFest, began as a small event in 1988, with three musical acts and one food vendor. Approximately 250 attended that year. Over the next few years, planners investigated new and larger venues, ticket pricing and increased budgeting for musical acts. In 1996, the planning committee and new board of directors decided the event would be free, with financial support based largely on sponsorships and volunteers to run all aspects of festival coordination. In this year, the festival was officially named the “Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival, JazzFest” and found a home at Yankton Trail Park in south Sioux Falls.

Attendance numbers have fluctuated from 65,000 to 105,000 over the past three years with two stages, a children’s area that includes live children’s music and an artist-in-residence, poetry tent and over 30 food vendors and 20 non-food vendors.

The positive impact that JazzFest has on the community of Sioux Falls and state of South Dakota is shown by the overwhelming positive response voiced by community and government leaders and attendees from across the nation and Canada. JazzFest is an important event because it provides high-quality live music to citizens from all walks of life.

Comments from attendees over the past fifteen years have provided proof to the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society that JazzFest is important because of its contribution to the culture and arts in our state.

Want to be a volunteer at JazzFest? Here's how...

Volunteers are an extremely important factor to the success of JazzFest. They play a key role, working with the public to ensure safety, security and enjoyment for all who attend. Volunteers work in a variety of areas at the festival and volunteering is fun and a great way to meet new people wile assisting the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization!

The JazzFest Committee is made up of 65 members that assist the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society staff and board of directors with all aspects of festival organization.

There are over 800 volunteers that assist with making JazzFest one of the largest community events in the state. Areas that volunteers assist with at the festival include: Beverage Sales, Signage, Security, Trash Pick-Up, Site Management, Food Vending, Non-Food Vending, Children’s Area, Sponsor/VIP Hospitality, Merchandise, Volunteers, Marketing, Parking, Front/Back Gate Donations, and Transportation.

Here are some JazzFest Volunteer Quick Facts!

What are the requirements for volunteering?
The minimum age for volunteers is 15. Younger volunteers are welcome, but we ask that they work along side Mom or Dad. Volunteer areas will coincide with age appropriateness. Volunteers ages 15 through 17 will need a signed parent release to work at the festival. Volunteers must be able to withstand heat and sun, as JazzFest is an outdoor event.

How long do volunteer shifts last?
Volunteer shifts can be four or more hours long depending on the area.

JazzFest begins at 5pm on Friday July 18th, but volunteers begin working on the set up for the festival as early as 9am Friday morning (Any pre-festival assistant you can offer is great!) JazzFest continues on Saturday the 19th at 11am and goes until midnight both nights.

Do I get anything for volunteering at JazzFest?
Along with that “warm and fuzzy” feeling for helping out one of the largest community events in the state of South Dakota, all volunteers will receive a free JazzFest t-shirt with an exclusive design. It’s free, it’s hot… be a cool volunteer!

What happens after I fill out the on-line volunteer form?
Your information will be collected and a JazzFest Committee representative will contact you about specific requirements for the area that you are interested in working. Please note that by filling out an on-line form you are not assured a volunteer spot. If you have not been contacted by July 1, it is unlikely that you will be placed.

Will I be trained to perform my job?
Of course. Your training will be held before you shift, and you will receive a volunteer handbook via email prior to the festival.

Who do I contact if I have more questions?
If you have any questions about volunteering please contact Katrina at the Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society office at 605-335-6101 or info@sfjb.org.