RJO Blog

Sunday May 16 at 2pm the Reno Jazz Orchestra will feature the Bayberry Cast on our youtube channel.

Spring of 2021 brings hope that the Reno Jazz Orchestra (RJO) will be able to perform live and in person. We mastered Zoom for meetings, our education programs and even concerts, but now it is time to move on. With that in mind I want to share what we are working on both for performances and in education...

The Reno Jazz Orchestra (RJO) has been very busy virtually speaking. Bad news is we still can’t share our love for jazz with you in person, good news is that you can join us virtually any time you wish. I want to give you a report about our virtual Jazz in the Schools (JITS) we hosted February 11th through 13th . Then a bit about our new monthly series which premiers Sunday, March 21st at 2:00 pm .

For readers who may be unfamiliar with the RJO, the Reno Jazz Orchestra is Northern Nevada’s premiere big band, in existence for over two decades and featuring some of Northern Nevada’s best jazz musicians. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has presented the RJO from performing live since the beginning of the pandemic. This article will review how the RJO has continued to function in the absence of live concert performances.

A few weeks ago I introduced you all to Brazilian music and with winter still upon us today is the day to meet the Sun of Latin Music, Eddie Palmieri. Going to college in San Francisco during the seventies, as a musician, the cultural diversity of the city introduced me to a wealth of music styles I would not have experienced otherwise. Back then, I would take my trombone to church to perform at a morning service. In the afternoon I would play in a marching band in Chinatown for a Chinese funeral where the band performing hymns would lead a parade of mourners in trucks and cars. Then it was off to Mission Street at night to play salsa. Those, along with performing in rock bands, big bands, and orchestras were all great experiences...

Today jazz education is on the agenda. One story is about three days in February and the other thirty-four years in the making...

Improvisation is at the core of jazz and this year all of us had to improvise a new way in all we do and rely on the thoughtfulness of others to get through this year.

Let’s take a trip to Brazil by focusing on one arrangement to be featured on the Reno Jazz Orchestra’s (RJO) Earth, Wind, and Fire recording project.   It is actually two Brazilian songs put together into one piece “Ponta de Areia” and “Zanzibar”.   Though EWF is world renowned for their funk and soul they had jazz roots starting with leader Maurice White performing with jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis.  White and the band have had a life-long love for Brazilian music and the songs above were featured on two different albums.  First let me introduce you to Brazilian music and then the composers...

This month the Reno Jazz Orchestra started our Mentor Program and Saturday Jazz Workshop. The Mentor Program brings a professional jazz musician to the band room to work with school jazz bands. The workshop teaches jazz improvisation mostly by ear to develop that skill. We started later than usual because this fall they are both online. I thought it timely to speak to local band directors who are working through all the challenges of teaching music during the pandemic and I was impressed by their dedication to both teaching and counseling students.

I bet that most of you reading this know the Earth, Wind and Fire (EWF) song the above lyric came from and you can sing it! Since we are recording it as a part of EWF recording project I thought I would share a little of the song’s background first. Then introduce you to two of the musicians performing and lastly a quick project update.