The WJ Jazz Ensemble performed an electing and entertaining set at the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival Saturday, Feb. 15.

Jazz Ensemble participates in the festival competition every year, usually in the competition. This year, however, the group traded unsettling competition for a lighthearted showcase.

“The exhibition performance allowed us to play more tunes longer, expanding tunes to feature more soloists,” teacher Christopher Kosmaceski said.

Jazz Ensemble usually participates in the high school jazz competition hosted by the organization but this year they decided to play for the public, something the group had to adapt to.

The ballroom was filled with family and friends but people were also wandering in throughout the performance. There were sound technicians, someone announced us on,” senior trumpeter Cassia Klein said.

For some the absence of a competitive environment ended up calming nerves.

“We were more comfortable, it was definitely a more relaxed performance,” senior tenor saxophonist Ryan Shoenfeld said.

The set included pieces by Chet Baker and Henry Mancini with the inclusion of more solos giving the audience more opportunity to interact with individual performers.

“A lot of people took solos so everyone had a chance to play something special which is cool because usually in other bands everyone is just playing the same thing,” senior pianist Meley Ghermey said.

“Charade”, composed by Henry Manchini, was performed and enjoyed by the audience as indicated by the sporadic unconscious bopping of a given listener’s head to the beat of the piece. The steady build-up of the song and the performers’ differentiated solos gave the room an air of that characteristic uplifting jazz feeling as one marveled at the talent of the performers.

“One of my friends, Ethan Amir, was performing so I went because I wanted to support him. But overall the performance was incredible. I really enjoyed the cello solos and the trumpet solos were quite good. I think the ambiance would’ve been better if they dimmed the lights” junior Max Ekstein said.

Jazz Ensemble is one of seven music ensembles in the WJ music department but is smaller than the others. Klein sees this as an opportunity for improvement as they can play and gain more experience with varied music.

“I like how we’re able to play a lot of music since we’re a smaller group and there’s a lot of opportunity for continual growth throughout the year,” Klein said. “You can also do more pieces and there are more opportunities to perform. Like we performed at the senior citizens luncheon earlier this year and we get to do Mid-Atlantic and we also get to do the country festival. So I wanted to be able to perform more and I wanted to challenge myself.” Klein said.

Jazz Ensemble is one of the ensembles that require an audition. Like any style of music, jazz has a lot of moving parts to it but the ability to rely on fellow band members makes the experience more enjoyable.

“The fact that everyone depends on each other is really nice. There’s a very strong connection between each section,” Ghermey said. “The rhythm section, so the piano, the guitar, the bass and the drums, we hold the rhythm for the band. The brass and the woodwinds build on top of that; it’s really nice how everything goes together.”

Still, jazz is quite the departure from standard classical music. It is characterized by improvisation but also reliance on the group as a whole and trusting in the finished product; no matter how unorthodox the different parts may sound at a given moment.

“Everyone has an individual part. Song to song there is a lot more independence and there is a lot more of ‘Oh! That’s my note and it sounds a little weird, but that’s just jazz’,” Klein said.

WJ Jazz Ensemble prepares for next song. The ensemble performed on The Bijou stage at the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, Feb. 15. “When I first auditioned I wasn’t really familiar with [the genre], but I feel like I’ve really grown a lot. As a jazz musician it’s pretty natural,” senior pianist Meley Ghermey said.