It is time to get jazzy CHS! This year, the CHS jazz band invited student vocalists to accompany the instrumentalists. These vocalists were added to give the band a more classic, old jazz band feel. Many of the songs that the Jazz Band performed were made famous by such artists as Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles. These songs would not be nearly as strong or passionate if not for the collaboration between instruments and vocals.

The band members have noticed the positive effect of performing pieces with vocals as well as instruments in past years, but they were unable to acquire any last year. This year there are three vocalists: freshman Elizabeth Burgess, junior Siarah Barnum, and senior Timothy Barney. The band’s debut performance with these singers was on Sept. 26 at the LA County Fair for the annual Claremont Day at the Fair. The band played the songs “It’s Only A Paper Moon” by Peggy Haley, “The Look of Love” by Dusty Springfield, “Fever” by Little Willie John, and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” by Fred Astaire. During their performance, they also had an impressive solo by one of the saxophone players.

“It went really well. We played some ballads and classic songs for about half an hour,” Burgess said. “We only got to practice for a month for this performance when normally we would get more time, but in the end I really enjoyed it and so did the audience.”

The musicians in jazz band also agree that the band benefits from the addition of vocalists. It contributes to the jazzy feel of the music by incorporating personality and charisma through vocal ability. It adds a whole new component to each number when combining jazz instruments with vocals. The vocalists were originally in the band as instrument players, until they asked Rick Melanson, CHS jazz band teacher, for positions as singers.

“I think the singers are a great addition to the band,” freshmen trombone player, Andrew McDaniels said. “They give us even more flare than we already have.”

Jazz band members are excited for this year and believe that the addition of singers will give them a boost in competitions and performances. Songs like “Fever” and “The Look of Love” are famous because of their lyrics and the way they have been revived by great singers time and time again. Jazz singers require a much different skill set than singers of most other genres, especially since a beautiful jazz song cannot live up to its fullest potential without a great voice to guide it. With the new jazz vocalists, the CHS jazz band is bringing songs back to their roots and performing them in the way they were meant to.