Sedona, AZ: Barney and Karla Foster of Bullhead City don’t live with or near any of the young musicians who performed with the 2007 edition of the Sedona Jazz on the Rocks Youth Jazz Band. They’re connected by the music and the obvious talents of the artists from Camp Verde, Chino Valley, Glendale, Phoenix, Prescott, and Tucson.
Now, the couple can hear the band anytime after underwriting the $7000 cost to record its most-recent CD recorded this summer, that includes a collection of original pieces by the young musicians. The recording is the second by the 2007 band and the third by a youth jazz band. KJZZ (91.5 FM) Music Director Blaise Lantana debuted the CD on her evening jazz show earlier this month.
The couple, along with many of their friends, has traveled by motorcycle to Sedona for the all-day JazzFest each September for the last 12 years, primarily to see, hear and experience the sounds of the Youth Jazz Band.
“The first time we went to the Festival, I commented to the band’s director about how impressed I was with the showmanship and the talent of the kids in the band,” Barney said. “I knew when I was that age I could never do that. We kept going back year after year and the main reason was to see the kids play.”
The CD will be sold at the 27th annual Sedona Jazz on the Rocks Festival, September 23-28, and through the organization’s web site, www.sedonajazz.com. The 2008 SJOR Youth Jazz Band will open the all-day JazzFest on Saturday, September 27, at the Radisson Poco Diablo Resort.
The 2007 band members include Patrick Adams, trumpet, Prescott; Calvin Audis, trombone, Chino Valley; Austin Cox, tenor sax, Chino Valley; Zachary Gillespie, trumpet, Glendale; Brian Hanshaw, trumpet, Tucson; Matt Hepburn, drums, Prescott; Hayden Mapel, trombone, Phoenix; David McVicker, tenor sax, Phoenix; Brian Messenger, guitar, Prescott; Dennis Messenger, bass, Prescott; Jai Rideout, alto sax, Camp Verde; Conor Watson, drums, Chino Valley; and band director Matt Jackson, piano, Prescott.
“These are remarkably talented kids,” said Foster, a lifelong music fan who wrote the CD’s liner notes. “The 2007 group borders on the best they’ve ever had.” Foster was in the Valley for the recording session.
“The CD is very well mixed,” he said. “The beauty of the recording is that every song, with the exception of one, was written and arranged by the kids. The band director, Matt Jackson, did a terrific job.”
