JAZZ IN FULL SWING ON CAMPUS

On Saturday, May 4, the MHCC Gresham main campus was filled with the sounds of brass instruments, saxophones, and percussion: It was the 41st annual Northwest Jazz Band Festival, a well-known and well-loved youth jazz competition run by our own Mt. Hood music department.

Were you to take a stroll around campus, you would be surrounded by swing from five different venues where groups were performing from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. You could hardly walk 10 feet without encountering the recurring sight of teenagers in black tuxes, toting instrument cases and tattered Beacock music folders.

A whopping 75 middle- and high school big bands and combo groups were visiting from all around Oregon and Washington, making this the biggest turnout the festival has had in years. There were also 17 different adjudicators and clinicians, all amazingly talented musicians who gave each band constructive feedback on their performance, as well as hosted masterclasses every hour to help students improve on different elements of jazz.

This year’s festival was also fortunate to host acclaimed jazz pianist Peter Martin as a guest artist. 

Having arranged and performed on multiple Grammy️-winning releases, Martin took time off from a professional tour in Austria to attend Mt. Hood’s festival. He gave a masterclass, joined in as a guest with the college’s Big Band performance, and performed alongside MHCC faculty Tim Gilson on bass and Gary Hobbs on drums for an unforgettable jam that included several songs he had written himself.

It was certainly riveting for any jazz enthusiast to see so many talented musicians come together in one place to make music. You could definitely see a love for the medium in the wide smile on Martin’s face every time he plunked the keys.

Of course, this festival wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless help of many volunteers from in and outside of the Mt. Hood music department, who worked from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. to make this huge undertaking run as seamlessly as possible. Many of our college student volunteers also performed in the MHCC Big Band at the end of the day.

Grateful for all the help to pull this off, Dan Davey, festival director and MHCC director of jazz, said he plans to make the Northwest Jazz Band Festival even bigger next year.

Meantime: If you’d love to hear jazz music at Mt. Hood but missed out on this festival, have no fear: MHCC will host the OMEA State Jazz Championship all day on Saturday, May 18. The event will be free and open to all, and will be held in the College Theatre.

Advocate Staff