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!).