Jazz Pianist Reggie Thomas to Coach South High School Musicians for NYC Festival Tuesday

On Tuesday, April 5 from 6 to 10 p.m., professional jazz pianist and clinician for Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York City Reggie Thomas will conduct a workshop at South High School in Downers Grove for the school’s student jazz ensemble.

In February, the ensemble was selected as one of only 15 jazz bands nationwide to perform in the 16^th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival being held in New York City, New York, May 12-14. One of the rewards for being selected is to receive an in-school workshop with a professional musician.

Grammy award winning trumpet player Wynton Marsalis judged which of the 1,500 bands that auditioned to invite. He also serves as director of the festival.

At the workshop, Thomas will prepare the students on how to “to put up their Dukes” to impress the judges before traveling to New York City. He will advise the 24 students on their approach to improvisation, the style and rhythmic feel of the music, and the sound quality and blend of the band.

He will also critique the charts they will perform, which include Tippin’ on the Q.T., Prelude to a Kiss, and Every Day I Have the Blues. At the competition, the jazz ensemble will perform in front of Marsalis and a panel of esteemed judges; past judges have included David Berger, Gunther Schuller and David Baker.

As one of the most in-demand pianists and educators in the country, Thomas is a professor of music at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. In 2009, he joined the faculty of Jazz St. Louis, directing the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars with fellow SIUE professor Rick Haydon.

South High School Jazz Ensemble Director Craig Roselieb had the opportunity last summer to attend the Band Director Academy in New York and work directly with Thomas. “Reggie Thomas processes an incredible knowledge of jazz harmony and his approach to improvisation has greatly enhanced the way I approach my teaching” says Roselieb.

The annual Essentially Ellington festival, in place since 1995, is considered to be the highest achievement for high school jazz bands. According to The New York Times: "Some of these bands are good enough to have yielded musicians who now play with the [Jazz at] Lincoln Center band itself.” According to The Seattle Times: “Essentially Ellington is the Cadillac of high school jazz competitions."