For the past several months, Newman’s newly formed jazz band — the Jazzy Jets — has been getting together and making some noise.
Made up of music enthusiasts of varying backgrounds and experience level, the band has been constantly improving, sharpening its sounds with both classic and contemporary pieces.
Its members are grateful for this opportunity to pick up their instruments and play alongside one another, as many of them are practicing and performing again for the first time in years.
Taylor Ordway, who has played trumpet for 18 years, said the Jazzy Jets gave her a chance to play music again and bond with Newman students.
“Our group has a lot of bright personalities,” began Ordway, “and the club gives instrumentalists a place to let loose and relieve stress. We plan to make Newman loud again with school spirit and awesome music. We would really love to invite more people to join when club signup comes around again.”
Junior Ezekiel Kemboi, who runs on the men’s cross country team and has played trumpet for over 7 years, also expressed his excitement about the young group.
“Although we don’t have many members at the moment, the experience has been pretty solid,” Kemboi said. “Getting to meet and know other talented musicians around campus has been a joy, and I believe we have the ability to liven things up a bit around Newman once we get things going. This year is kind of serving as a foundation as we all reintegrate into playing, but come next year we hope to perform more and grow in size.”
The band had humble beginnings, as Jenny Duong — the club’s president — assembled several passionate musicians together during August 2021. Each brought their own instruments.
On Oct. 10, the Jazzy Jets set up a bake sale to help fund their efforts of getting new music stands and eventually a drum set.
All of their hard work and practice paid off for the first time when they performed during one of Newman’s board meetings.
Moving forward, they hope to keep learning new pieces and line up additional performances to keep the campus loud.
If you are interested in donating to, supporting or even playing with the Jazzy Jets, you can email Duong at [email protected].
