With the school’s attention focused on the girls’ basketball
team and their feats in the tournament, another great Pentucket victory slipped
under the radar.
Pentucket’s Jazz Combo was recently awarded the blue ribbon
at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival.
This festival is the largest of its kind in the United
States. For the past 20 years, Pentucket
has competed in the festival against approximately 200 other high schools from
across the country. The festival is
broken up into competing categories based on the size of the school and the
type of ensemble. Led by Mr. Schumacher,
Joe D’Amore, Eddie Gaudet, Duncan Tarr, and Josh Torvi earned first place in
the 2nd class combo section.
The group felt confident after their performance, and once
pianist D’Amore and guitarist Torvi each received Outstanding Musician awards,
drummer Gaudet explains, it became evident that the group placed.
For Gaudet, the most memorable part of the experience was
the pride in Mr. Schumacher’s countenance when the group’s placing was
announced.
Their winning set “reflected [the group’s] interest in
exploring jazz both inside and outside its traditional realm,” said
D’Amore. It consisted of “Deluge” by
Wayne Shorter, “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes,” a popular jazz standard, and
“How’s Never?” by Dave Holland.
The last song is a favorite of D’Amore’s because it offers
something different from the narrow definition commonly attached to jazz.
Torvi said that it was this “modern sound” along with a
“strong level of unity and group interaction” which set the group above the
rest. These were two of the group’s
strengths on which the judges commented.
Gaudet also commented on the group’s unmatched unity. He explains the members have developed an
unspoken communication, so they are consistently in synch with their timing and
tone. Their experience together makes a
noticeable difference in their sound.
Hopefully, the group will be able to rebuild its unity after
D’Amore and bassist Tarr leave for college next year.
Gaudet dreads this change in the group, especially the loss
of Tarr. He explains how important a
strong bassist is as a foundation for the group. Gaudet hopes that the upcoming Pentucket
talent will be able to fill Tarr’s shoes.
Tarr plans to study performance jazz, and although D’Amore
plans to become an English major, he has no intention of giving up jazz.
For him, and undoubtedly for the group as a whole, jazz is
“far more than just a hobby.”