High School outfits jazzin' it up Monday night

Taste of Jazz, a fundraising concert featuring four melodious outfits, will be happening Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Havre High School gym.

For the entry price of $5, parents, friends and music lovers can hear about 12 jazzy tunes and enjoy refreshments like pie while there.

The money raised will go toward scholarships for students going to college to earn a music degree.

The performing ensembles will be Jazz Band I and its younger counterpart, Jazz Band II, the select all- female vocal ensemble Belles Voix, and the co-ed select vocal group Hi-Liters, who have performed at various events around Havre. The concert is put on by the booster club Friends of Music.

Havre High choir instructor Danielle Stoll said the students have been practicing the music for months and are ready.

Jazz music originated amongst African Americans in New Orleans, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, having developed from roots in blues and ragtime. It became recognized as a major form of music in the 1920s jazz age. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation.

Some of the tunes that will be performed Monday evening will include "The Way You Look Tonight," "Summer Time," "Java Time," "Taking a Chance on Love," "All's Well that Ends Well," "Cantaloupe Island," and "So What."

The songs, Stoll said, were picked out by her and the band instructor, James Mepham.