Jazz for the next generation

Mile High Jazz Band presents the eighth annual Mile High-Carson High Jazz Extravaganza, at 8 p.m. Friday at the Brewery Arts Center Performance Hall, 511 W. King Street, Carson City. The concert, sponsored by the Brewery Arts Center and the Mile High Jazz Band Association, is a benefit for the Carson High Jazz Band programs.

The money raised will pay for their trip to the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival in Moscow, Idaho, in February.

"Groups from 30 countries and all ages, elementary through high school, attend the festival," said Elinor Bugli, Mile High Jazz Band Association board member. "Our students will be performing.

"One part of the association's mission is education and by helping raise the money for this trip is one way to foster education."

Friday evening's concert will open with the Carson High Jazz Band playing several numbers, followed by ensembles that include both high school and Mile High Jazz Band members. MHJB will then play several numbers and for the finale, both bands will perform "Blues in Hoss Flat," composed by Frank Foster and Count Basey.

Carson High Jazz Band, under the director of Jarod Sorum, attends and competes at jazz festivals each year, as well as playing special events and venues throughout the area.

"Jarod has really built the band up and they're getting better each year," Bugli said. "It is a special challenge to have your seniors graduate and begin teaching a new crop of incoming students each year, but he does a great job."

Both groups practice separately, coming together this one night to play.

"It is great to see how the kids enjoy playing this American music and how the generations enjoy playing together," Bugli said. "Jazz has a freedom to it that allows for expression and exploration, which is why jazz musicians love to get together and jam; even though the pros have charts they follow, (the charts) have places in them where the musicians are free to improvise."

The Extravaganza is co-sponsored by The Brewery Arts Center as part of its "Creating Together" campaign.

"The arts are not just an essential part of what makes a community - we are the community," said John Shelton, BAC director. "This event shows how arts organizations, businesses and schools work together in Carson City."

Bugli echoes the sentiment.

"It is important to have community support and that's what we're demonstrating Friday," she said. "Every penny from the ticket sales and from the ads sold for the program, will go toward the trip."

Access Carson City Television will film the concert to be broadcast live on Channel 210. DVDs of the performance will be available by contacting Darla Bayer at 830-7939 or dbayer@bactv.org.

The Mile High Jazz Band, a professional big-band ensemble directed by David Bugli, plays regularly in Northern Nevada, including monthly performances and quarterly Jazz and Poetry events at Comma Coffee. They sponsor an annual Jazz Festival in Carson City in August.

Extravaganza tickets cost $13.50 for general admission, $11.50 for students and seniors and $6.50 for youth ages 12 and younger, available at the Brewery Arts Center, online at breweryarts.org, or at the door. Tickets purchased in advance directly from Carson High Band students will receive a $1.50 discount per ticket. For more information, contact the Brewery Arts Center at 775-883-1976, ext. 117 or visit breweryarts.org.