PLAYERS PACK HEART, SOUL INTO A.V. JAZZ ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCES.Byline: Karen Thacker Community columnist Engineers, schoolteachers, retirees and music students may sound like an odd mix of people, but they sure know how to play well together - jazz, that is. They make up the A.V. Jazz Ensemble, which developed 20 years ago from an advanced jazz band course at Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. . ``You play from the heart and soul,'' said Lee Matalon, the ensembles director. Participants are devoted to the music and the practices. The 19 men and one woman rehearse Wednesday nights, and perform two concerts a year at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center A performing arts center, often abbreviated PAC, is a multi-use performance space that can be adapted for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. . For the last seven years, they've also participated in the Ochorios Jazz Festival Noun 1. jazz festival - a festival that features performances by jazz artists festival, fete - an organized series of acts and performances (usually in one place); "a drama festival" in Jamaica. Band director Lee Matalon and pianist Al Jamaitis consider themselves professional musicians and also play with their own quintet, Jazz Horizons. Dominic Alessi begged to join when the group started 20 years ago, but he knew how to play only the clarinet. He took up the saxophone, developed quite a talent and has been hanging out with the ensemble ever since, Matalon said. For aerospace engineer Jerry Lockwood, playing the trumpet gives him a great outlet for expression, in addition to letting him practice his love for music. ``I play everywhere I can,'' said Lockwood, who parlayed his high school talent into a gig as a backup for an Elvis impersonator An Elvis impersonator is someone who impersonates or copies famed American musician Elvis Presley, either as a hobby, a career in entertainment or occasionally for fun. Elvis impersonators can range in ethnic background, size and talent. , and a pickup for singer Kenny Rogers. After moving to the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley in 1991, Lockwood ran into friend John McQulkin, the Quartz Hill High School Quartz Hill High School is a public, co-educational high school located in Lancaster, California. Founded in 1964, it is the third oldest comprehensive high school in the Antelope Valley High School District (AVHSD). band director who also plays with the A.V. Jazz Ensemble. Lockwood joined up and has been playing ever since. Of 20 members, five play trumpet, five others play saxophone, four play trombone trombone [Ital.,=large trumpet], brass wind musical instrument of cylindrical bore, twice bent on itself, having a sliding section that lengthens or shortens it and thus regulates the pitch. The descendant of the sackbut, it was developed in the 15th cent. , with the others filling out on piano, bass, drums, guitar, percussion and vocals. The A.V. Jazz Ensemble will perform at 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $15. On Feb. 7, the A.V. Jazz Ensemble will perform at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. The Lancaster performance will be what Matalon calls a two-for-one concert. The first half has a few big band tunes and new songs. The second half will be Broadway hits. Songs include ``Satin Doll,'' ``Day by Day,'' ``New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , New York,'' ``Take the Day Train,'' ``It's All Right With Me,'' and ``Maria,'' and ``Somewhere'' from ``West Side Story.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) The 20-piece A.V. Jazz Ensemble plays big band and Broadway favorites. |
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