All State Jazz Competitions

On Sunday, 2 May, St Columba’s Big Band performed at the All State Jazz Competitions at St Leonard’s College, Brighton. Under the directions of Mr Leon Duncan, the ensemble performed three pieces.

The first piece performed is titled ‘Teddy the Toad’. This chart was originally performed by Count Basie and his Orchestra. Our soloists for this chart, Luci Srour (on trumpet) and Sibelle Speranza (on alto saxophone) played their respective solos with great flair and creativity.

For their second piece, the band played a haunting ballad called ‘Once upon a time’. This ballad featured Alissa Rose-Probyn playing the melody beautifully on tenor saxophone.

The final piece performed by Big Band is titled ‘Hit the bricks’. This is a funky arrangement written by Gordon Goodwin who is the leader of the famous Big Phat Band. The piece begins with a shaker (played by Siana Larkin) and funky bass line by Allanah Hessey on bass guitar. Julia Speranza (on trumpet) and Alissa Rose-Probyn held their solo lines with great confidence.

Our girls performed extremely well and were placed second in their section. The adjudicators spoke of the sense of camaraderie which the band exuded from their performance.

Three of our girls who were outstanding in their sections were listed in the Super Band. They are:

Julia Speranza (trumpet)

Alissa Probyn-Rose (tenor saxophone)

Siana Larkin (vibes)

These girls will receive a Super Band cap as a recognition of their outstanding skills on their instruments.