Evening of jazz on tap

The community of Sisters may enjoy the performance abilities of the Sisters School District Jazz Bands in a concert on Thursday, February 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the Sisters High School auditorium.

The Sisters Middle School and High School Jazz Bands concert will also feature some of the outstanding adult jazz players from the Central Oregon region.

All the guest adult players performing in the concert have performed in some capacity as professional musicians at one time and all of them continue to be active performers on their instruments.

The guest performers will be performing as a sextet of their own as well performing together with the high school jazz band students for a concert finale.

The special guests include Andy Armer -- piano; Warren Zaiger -- bass; Dennis Senff -- drums; Gary Webster -- saxophone; Andy Warr -- saxophone; and Dave VanHandel -- trombone.

The Sisters Jazz Festival is sponsoring the concert by providing service fees for the adult guest musicians. This is possible due to significant funding recently established by the Sisters Jazz Festival for jazz education outreach opportunities.

"The compensation is a generous statement of support since all the special guests agreed to perform on the school concert free of any charge," said SHS Musical Director Jody Henderson.

"All of the guest musicians were very receptive about the invitation to play on our concert," he said. "They all view getting together with our students as a way of passing on something that is very meaningful to them -- the art music of jazz. Being able to pay them for their support will ensure this kind of experience can continue for the students in the future."

Henderson is delighted to offer this experience to the students.

"Getting students around adults who make the music they love playing a part of their adult lives is the most significant lesson I could ever plan," he said.

The February 12 concert will be held at the conclusion of the parent-teacher conferences, an opportune time for families to take in an evening of great music free of charge.