By Katie Servas – Staff Reporter

“Alright jazzy-jazzers, let’s get ready for our concert.” – Mr. Pelaggi

The Jonathan Law Jazz Band preformed at the Naugatuck Jazz Festival on April 29 at Naugatuck High School. This is the first time many members performed in the ensemble but returning members haven’t preformed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This opportunity gave the group the ability to share their music with other high school students as well as listen to many jazz bands preform.

“It was so great to hear other groups perform,” Band Director Mr. Pelaggi said. “For me, it was interesting to hear the differences between the groups that have jazz as a part of their curriculum and those that have it as an after school activity.”

The other bands allowed them to see what they could work towards and where they can push themselves to improvise with higher or lower notes than they are comfortable with, within each solo section. It was a strong learning experience for all of those that participated.

“It was very fun and exciting to hear all of the other musicians play different pieces,” freshman trumpet player Peter Gill said. “The trumpet solos in other bands were thrilling because of how good their skills are.”

There were around eight different bands that performed, each presenting different styles of jazz.

“It was good to get a mix of styles,” junior alto saxophone player Matt McKlosky said. “Listening to swing style music, more kinds of rock/jazz centered pieces, a couple of latin pieces, and one being like a jazzy sea shanty was interesting to see how each of the pieces played with their instruments, especially more brass centered songs, since we don’t have many brass players.”

After listening to all of the bands, many members reflected on their personal growth with their instruments and how much they’ve improved since receiving the music.

“I’ve personally grown with playing the slide trombone,” sophomore low brass player Chris Rickard said. ”I am an entirely self-taught trombone player, and through Mr. Pelaggi’s program have been able to accomplish more in that respect which has helped to diversify instrumentation and appreciation for other styles of music and has been one of my biggest growths, along with challenging my limits as not simply a euphonium or tuba player, but a low brass player in general.”

With each member finding improvement within themselves, there were many improvements with the entire ensemble overall.

“I think the whole band has grown so much in the time we got these pieces,” junior Drum Major Kayla Lembo said. “We have all gotten more comfortable with the music and playing it together.”

The ensemble was proud of their performance as well as their growth since the beginning of the year. For the few returning members, it was a new experience preforming with a new group of musicians whom never preformed jazz music before. 

“The purpose of music is to play and perform for others, without the performance, it’s just a whole lot of repetition,” McKloksy said. ”I’ve also definitely noticed that the group dynamic has shifted from a more balanced instrumentation to being more saxophone heavy, but that’s not a bad thing at all.”

The loss of many strong musicians and the growth of many strong musicians have brought different elements to the ensemble.

“As a director, the whole gig is just wearing a suit and talking into a microphone,” Pelaggi said. “Seeing our students be independent and work as a unit is always a treat to me. We hadn’t had a jazz gig in a while, so being able to do this concert was really fun.”

With this being the first preformed gig in two years, many thought it was a great way to showcase their growth as a group and individually.

“The dynamic of the group has changed a lot since we started together in 2019,” Pelaggi said. “Our students are more friendly with each other and are more collaborative because the relationships are stronger than ever.”