Jazz Ensemble Spotlight
By Stephanie Engberg
Freshman Annika Bergstrom (left) and senior Billy Box rehearse with the Jazz Ensemble on Feb. 3. Jazz Ensemble rehearses in the band room during advisory. They were preparing for their performance at the Pops dinner on March 3. Photo by Johnathan Erickson
Jazz Ensemble is a specialized band directed by Joe Kasparek. This group meets every Tuesday and Wednesday at Superior High School during B lunch. During lunch its members can learn how to play different styles of jazz.
“Jazz is the only thing that’s truly unique American music. We study everything from old Duke Ellington charts to Basey charts,” Kasparek said.
The Jazz Ensemble is smaller than the Spartan Band and the Concert Band.
“It’s unique in that you don’t have a whole lot of people on every part. There’s also improvisation involved. You don’t always play exactly what you see. You make stuff up sometimes. You have to interpret it in the right style,” Kasparek said.
Freshmen Annika Bergstrom and Angel Raddatz are both trombone players in Jazz Ensemble and Concert Band. Bergstrom said that jazz is a much different style than what she’s used to.
“There’s definitely different styles of music in jazz than in Concert Band or Spartan Band. There’s more swing and different tempos and stuff. It’s different music in general,” Bergstrom said.
Raddatz enjoys Jazz Ensemble because it’s more challenging than other bands.
“I felt like things were going a little slow and easy in Spartan Band, but in Jazz and Concert, things got more complicated, and we got to try new things,” Raddatz said.
Raddatz, Bergstrom and Kasparek all agree that Jazz Ensemble has gone very well this year.
“We’re one of the best high school jazz bands in the region,” Kasparek said.
