SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Release 2017 Double Album

October 4, 2017 | by Erin Putnam

Each spring, the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars enter the studio for a 3-day album recording session, and each fall, a beautifully tracked, mixed, and mastered final product arrives at the Center as a testament to the year of hard work these amazing musicians put in. We are happy to announce that the 2017 High School All-Stars album is now available at our box office as well as at SFJAZZ.org!

Check out this sneak peek into the All-Stars’ creative process.

And as always, your listening guide with a few top picks, musical tidbits, and shout-outs to these amazing players’ artistry:

Disc 1 - Big Band

“Tokyo” (track 5): This piece was commissioned of alumnus Owen Clapp for the 2017 Hut Foundation Alumni Commission Award. Clapp said of his tone poem, “the music is supposed to paint a portrait of my impressions. It was so much fun joining the band for rehearsals… I didn't consciously imagine lotus blossoms and gongs when I was writing, but I'm now seeing and hearing that those things influenced the piece in many ways.”

“Skylark” (track 7): While the All-Stars Big Band is often known for power and bombast, this beautiful Hoagy Carmichael ballad highlights a softer side. Soloist Evan Mickas is featured on alto saxophone throughout the body of the piece, book-ended by the arrangement’s stunning and disquieting piano intro and closing.

“Gunslinging Bird” (track 8): For all your bombast needs! This massive Charles Mingus piece, arranged for big band by Steve Slagle, was one of the tunes that won the All-Stars Big Band 1st place at the Charles Mingus High School Festival & Competition in March, hosted by the Manhattan School of Music.

Disc 2 - Combo

“Forward” (track 1): This opening track, penned by the group’s tenor saxophonist, Solomon Alber, is the kind of driving, soli-infused bop that is the trademark of the All-Stars Combo. This fantastic piece was one of the tunes that won them 1st place at both the Charles Mingus Festival and MJF’s Next Generation Jazz Festival in 2017.

“Milestones” (track 2): Trumpeter Kate Williams won the DownBeat Student Music Award for Best Jazz Arrangement for this piece. Little known fact: this is NOT the well-known Miles Davis piece from the 1958 album of the same name; this tune was written by pianist John Lewis, although Davis’s name was forever attached to it after its 1947 studio recording by the Miles Davis All-Stars (feat. Lewis).

“Trap Not Going Nowhere” (track 9): Composed by the Combo’s drummer, Matanda Keyes, this tune is funky but never frivolous; it is a rhythm challenge, showing off the ensemble’s ability to lock in – we dare you to try to find the “one.”

Need your digital copy now? This year’s album, along with the entire High School All-Stars canon, are now available on Apple Music, Amazon, and streaming on Spotify.