On Thursday, Jan. 18, the two Libertyville High School Jazz Ensembles played in the Libertyville High School Auditorium. The concert featured music from the groups Jazz Lab Band and Jazz Ensemble.

Before the concert began, Mr. Dave Ness, a guitar teacher at LHS, explained to the audience that middle schoolers from Oak Grove and Highland came during the day to play with the high school bands. There was a concert with the middle schoolers in the early afternoon. There was also a guest artist, Ms. Joan Hickey, who played piano in multiple songs throughout the concerts in both the afternoon and the evening.

The Jazz Lab Band, which performed first, is conducted by Mr. Ness. Their first piece was “Lil Darlin’,” composed by Neal Hefti. This piece featured freshman trumpet soloist, Giovanni Bernardi. Ms. Hickey was also featured in this piece.

Their second piece, “Fancy Pants,” was a very upbeat tune that kept the audience engaged. There were multiple soloists during this number, including freshmen Bryce Nowicki and Kyle Otte and sophomore Alex Tang on saxophone; sophomore Rachel Hamilton on trombone; and senior Alex Dikelsky and Bernardi on trumpet. Ms. Hickey was also featured during this song.

The Jazz Lab Band’s third and final piece was “In the Mood,” composed by Joe Garland and arranged by Michael Sweeney. Sophomore Bennett Scheunamann and Alex Dikelsky both had solos during this piece. Replacing Ms. Hickey for this piece was sophomore Christina Jacksack on piano.

The Jazz Ensemble performed next, directed by Mr. Matthew Karnstedt, the assistant band director. The first piece they performed was “Big Dipper,” composed by Thad Jones. This piece grabbed the audience’s attention right away with a loud banging from the drum player, senior John McGuan. Soloists in this piece included senior Julia Mollenhauer on trumpet and McGuan on drums. Ms. Hickey joined the Jazz Ensemble for this piece.

Next up was the classic piece, “Over the Rainbow,” composed by Arlen and Harburg and arranged by Brad Morey. The audience really enjoyed this piece, as many people were swaying to the familiar tune. Seniors Jacob Dikelsky and Spencer Vang both had solos on the trombone, and Mollenhauer was a soloist on the flute. Sophomore Audrey Chung came out to play the piano on this number.

The third and final piece was “Bemsha Swing,” composed by Thelonious Monk and arranged by Bill Holman. Ms. Hickey was brought out again for the final piece.

At the end of the concert, Mr. Karnstedt recognized the seniors in both bands. These seniors were Nick Berklin, Julian Bok, Franklin Borre, Alex Dikelsky, Jacob Dikelsky, Beck Ghantous, McGuan, Mollenhauer, Ian Nagle, and Spencer Vang.