The longstanding rivalry between the jazz bands at Garfield High School and Roosevelt High School has taken another turn last week at the Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival. Garfield took first place, with Roosevelt taking second, out of 15 finalist bands across the country. The results were a reversal of last year, when the Rough Riders took the top prize, and the Bulldogs took second.
Both bands have now won the top spot at the nationwide competition three times.
Bellevue’s Newport High School (my alma mater!) also made an appearance in the competition. Although not achieving ensemble recognition, Newport garnered several individual awards for Outstanding Soloists. The most notable recipient Ariel Pocock, not only took home the highly competitive Outstanding Piano Soloist award, but also the Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Vocalist award.
Washington State’s high school jazz community is unique in its quality and consistency. Washington State bands have appeared at every Essentially Ellington festival since the competition was opened up to schools nationwide in 1999. Our high school jazz bands have made such an impact on the festival, that it would be considered highly unusual if less than three Washington State bands appeared as finalists.
KCTS 9 will feature a half-hour episode showcasing superb local high school jazz bands as they perform live in our studios. We’ve already got all of this year’s Essentially Ellington competitors lined up; Garfield, Roosevelt and Newport -- as well as many other reputable ensembles from the Pacific Northwest.
Check out the pilot episode of Jazz Alive! with the 2008 Roosevelt Jazz Band.
See complete results from Essentially Ellington 2009.
Past winners and finalists of Essentially Ellington.
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