Analy High School Jazz Ensemble joined the SSU Jazz Orchestra at the Weill Hall in the Green Music Center on March 3. The performance had a big turnout.

The night started out with Analy’s Jazz Ensemble, directed by Casey Jones, playing “Jumpin’ at the Woodside”, a song arranged by Rich DeRosa. The crowd was very engaged and many were moving their bodies to the rhythm. Director Jones came out a few minutes into the first song and received a lot of applause from the audience. He gave credit to each soloist after they played their piece and helped to project the instruments by adjusting the mics to get right up in the horns.

Casey Jones gave a special thanks to Sonoma State and also acknowledged Doug Leibinger, the director of the SSU Jazz Orchestra, as someone who he had learned from. “It was an absolutely wonderful experience going through those Jazz classes,” said Jones.

After the last song was played, Jones gave a shout-out to the students and all the hard work and time they put into not only the performance but the many practices they attended. “Give it up for these amazing students,” said Jones.

The next set of the night, by the SSU Jazz Orchestra, started with the song Tangerine by Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger and was arranged by Doug Leibinger. The audience was again very engaged and excited by the performance.

Following this song was “Satin Doll” by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Johnny Mercer. This song featured the first vocalist of the night, Michaela Thomas. Michaela did an amazing job and had the audience very excited.

At the end of this song, Leibinger said he’s a firm believer that “Each Jazz concert should have one Duke Ellington.” This concert had two pieces by Duke Ellington, the other one being C-Jam Blues ala Mambo, the last song of the night.

After “Satin Doll” there was another song with a vocalist. Our Love is Here to Stay was sung by Melody Rose Neal, another crowd favorite. Neal was very in sync with the rhythm and the instruments.

The next song of the night, “Solar” was arranged by Leibinger. He noted that most people probably know the writer of this piece as Miles Davis who copyrighted it in 1963, but it was actually written in 1943 by Chuck Wayne, originally called Sonny. “This is our version of Solar.”When the last song ended, the Orchestra received a huge round of applause. Many people enjoyed the show.

When asked how Jazz makes you feel, June Ivanetich said “I like it a lot.” Ivanetich is in the Concert Jazz Ensemble that had played the previous night. “Jazz is the music that allows you to do what you like despite all the rules in music. You can ignore the rules in Jazz. It’s freeing.”

When commenting on both performances of the night, Kristina Lawson said, “They did a great job.”