A few Thursdays ago, the Hidden Valley jazz band served to us an excellent performance along with their top-tier spaghetti. This event is an annual fundraiser that takes place in Hidden Valley High School’s cafeteria and shows the admirable talent of Hidden Valley’s jazz bands!
The event started at 6:30, starring the Hidden Valley Middle School jazz band. Unlike in high school, jazz band is not counted as an individual elective. As a result, jazz band does not fill the place of a block, but instead occurs before school in the morning. The middle school musicians performing here are super for their dedication to Jazz, even in the morning hours!
On their plates were Oye Como Va, a catchy Latin pop song dated from the 1960s that’s loved worldwide, Ain’t Misbehaving, a 1929 stride jazz song featured in the Broadway musical comedy Connie’s Hot Chocolates, and Ants in the Pants, a rock style piece composed by George Vincent.
Now, before we move on to the High School Jazz band, let’s also discuss the complementary dinner.
The money for the spaghetti dinner was provided by Dave Jones Orthodontics. The preparation of the dishes was executed by the father of senior trumpetist Xander Glenn (12).
Xander Glenn explains, “My father cooked it on our stove, with a pot of water. It was just a lot of cooking and putting it in pans.”
To prepare all of it, it was a tedious process. Because there was a lot of spaghetti!
Then on the day of the spaghetti dinner, “Right after school, as soon as I got home, we just loaded the car up.” He continues.
For how long in total it took to prepare all the spaghetti, Xander Glenn elaborates, “My father got off at 1pm. He probably started cooking at around 2.” For comparison, the Spaghetti and Beatballs dinner began at 6:30 pm.
Here’s the crazy part: The preparation of all this spaghetti only took 2 to 3 hours! What!
“We have a 5-top stove. We had 5 going at one time, and the bread cooking all at once.” Xander Glenn clarifies.
Never had I imagined the extent it would take for that quantity of spaghetti. However, onwards, for now it is time for our high school’s very own jazz band to be the star of the show.
The high school performed Gospel John, Misty, Backatown, and A Cuban-ish Beat.
Gospel John was composed by Jeff Steinburg but set off in fame by Maynard Ferguson in the 1970s. With a flaring trumpet solo by Julia Pearce (10), this radiant piece is a fireball of an opener.
Misty is a whirly, wistful slow song originally written by Errol Garner. While on a flight from San Fransisco to Chicago in 1954, the plane passed through a thunderstorm. Garner gazed out the window to see a rainbow through a haze, where inspiration struck immediately. Whilst still on the plane, he found himself humming the notes and playing along on imaginary piano keys. Later, in 1959, Johnny Burke would produce a version of this song with written lyrics. This piece, with a saxophone solo performed by band senior Brendan Privitera (12), was a magnificent addition to the 2024 Spaghetti and Beatballs roster.
The Jazz Band then played Backatown. Backatown, a recent spectacle in the world of Jazz, was published in an album of the same name by Troy “Tromebone Shorty” Andrews in 2010. This piece has been described as a “sound born of New Orleans,” quite like Trombone Shorty himself.
The final piece of 2024’s Spaghetti and Beatballs Event is very special to the Hidden Valley Jazz Band. This piece was composed by none other than a Hidden Valley Jazz Band Member, Meghan Bagby (12)! Enamored by the triplet rhythms so common in Cuban Jazz, she whipped together a track centered around that very feature. This would become the funky, fabulous Cuban-ish Beat.
Well! What an amazing evening it was. If what you’ve read in today’s article piques your interest, there are many more spaghetti dinners for you to enjoy in the near future. Every Spaghetti and Beatballs dinner is different, with new songs and solos every year. Hope to see you there!
“I love Jazz Band, it’s my favorite band class. I think expounding upon learning minor scales and jazzier scales that you wouldn’t use in normal concert band music, alot of what you’re learning is creative expression. So much of jazz is just experimentation that people have done and then decided to write it down after they’ve decided what they like. What I really like about it is trying something new,” says one of the jazz band’s saxophonists, Claire Sublett (10), about what makes jazz band meaningful to her.
