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Jazz Articles about Foxborough High School
The Foxborough High School Jazz Ensembles 2003-2005: Jump for Joy
by Jack Bowers
This splendid album represents three years of preparation by the Jazz Ensembles at Foxborough, Massachusetts, High School for entry into the annual Essentially Ellington competition sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. The FHS Jazz Ensembles are the only ones to make the finals nine years in a row, and the 2004 ensemble, directed by Steve Massey, was runner-up in the competition. Whatever the purpose, it's great to hear young people playing classic music from the Swing Era, ...
read moreThe Foxborough High School Jazz Ensembles 1997-99: Rockin' in Rhythm: The Music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
by Jack Bowers
Another picturesque homage to Duke Ellington (high–school division) performed by the conspicuously talented Foxborough High School Jazz Ensembles (1997–99) under Stephen Massey’s baton. Massey must be doing something right, as his students’ grasp of the subtlety, dynamics and color of Ellington’s music is truly remarkable, especially for musicians who haven’t yet earned their high–school diplomas. Section work is uniformly precise and fluent while the various soloists succeed admirably in emulating the mood and character of the Duke’s renowned sidemen. To ...
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