PYJO

Over the past semester, I have been involved in the Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra, or PYJO. In the beginning, I had to try out for the band with Ben Medler, and after doing so, I was put into the IIA band. We have practiced for two hours every Tuesday night, working on songs such as Bemsha Swing by Thelonious Monk, One Mint Julep by Rudy Toombs, Switch in Time by Sarreguemines' Modern Jazz Band, 500 Miles High by Return to Forever, and Blue Bones by Dominic Sperra. There have been two concerts throughout the year, a fundraiser in which we played with the jazz group The Woolies, who have been on tour throughout the country for the past 18 months, as well as a concert played last week on December 6th, which I had to miss due to a conflicting school band concert. The PYJO has helped me learn many things, such as all twelve major and minor scales, all of the bebop scales, and a few of the jazz scales. The instructors of the band helped encourage and teach the students about soloing, and helped kids (who might not have been the best soloists beforehand) get the courage and skill needed to perform a long solo in front of an audience. We were taught how to position ourselves and play on two firm feet to sound best (I was nervous when I first performed and cowered back on one leg. I certainly learned my lesson!).

News

I will not be able to attend the upcoming PYJO concert on the 6th, due to a conflicting event with the Lake Oswego band. However, my parts will be played by an older musician.

PYJO Concert

A little while ago the Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra had a fundraiser in downtown Portland. At this fundraiser, the three top PYJO bands performed. The pieces 'Bemsha Swing', 'Switch in Time', 'One Mint Julip', and 'Blue Bones' were featured by the PYJO II A band. Also, the group The Woolies accompanied PYJO and played songs in between the different bands.

Update

I just came home from the Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra, or PYJO, which I have joined and have been practicing with for the past two weeks.

So far in the Jazz Orchestra we have practiced on general forms, such as going from a root to the flat seventh note in the scale, back to the root, to the second, and back to the root, and applying that to all twelve keys.

There are also a few songs we are playing, featuring an assortment of instruments, such as Blue Bones which, as the title suggests, features the trombones in the main line, and 500 Miles High, which has a large amount of trumpet solos and riffs.

During my time in the past month, I have also been reading up on Jazz Rhythm and Theory, meaning the different jazz scales and the common harmonies that make for a good song.

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