 "Photo: Fernando Garcia")
Jazz has a place at Ybor City’s Hillsborough Community College campus.
“It’s the best band I’ve had,” said Winslow having directed the band for three years.
Robert Winslow, the director of the music department’s jazz band at HCC, has been at HCC for three years as a full-time professor. “The jazz band program has been in place for more than 30 years,” Winslow said, and was established by Jim Burge, who preceded Winslow.
“Every year the word gets out and we keep getting better caliber player,” Winslow said.
Although the class is mainly academic, Winslow said, it’s used as a stepping stone for players to get into other programs after they finish at HCC.
“We have a trombone player, Joe Offner, and he’s tearin’ it up over at USF,” Winslow said.
Winslow said the band’s lead players are Enrique Bena, alto sax; Kevin Spundy, bass; Eddie Mora, trumpet; Mike Schmit, drums; John Renfro, trumpet; and Karen Violino, alto sax.
“(The variety) gives an opportunity to learn different styles,” Violino said.
Regular jazz band performances include each year’s gradation, which has received recognition from the District of Hillsborough for its performance.
The band’s schedule for fall 2009 has a Latin influenced consistency, playing songs like, “Spain” by Chick Corea, “Perdido” by Duke Ellington, “Mambo #5” by Perez Prado, “Anthropology” by Dizzy Gillespie, “Like Young” by Andre Previn, “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra and an arrangement of “God Bless the Child” by Blood, Sweat and Tears originally written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr.
A special function of the jazz band is to visit surrounding high schools and work with their bands side by side.
“It’s a great recruitment tool,” said Winslow, who shows students of the high school what it feels like to be in a college level band as they get to interact one on one with the students.
Alto saxophonist Karen Violino said she enjoys being a part of the band.
“It gives us an opportunity to learn different styles, everything from rock, jazz, swing and bebop. I love it,” she said.
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