With the end of Sitka Jazz Fest comes a new tradition — professional musicians are educating students for the second year with Juneau Jazz and Classics and the Juneau School District.
JJAC and JSD are partnering for five days of jazz in Juneau. On Tuesday, musicians began visiting elementary schools to give performances in assemblies. On Wednesday, the festival officially begins with a “Jazz Ramble,” a four-venue pub crawl that features local musicians and the Kyle Athayde Dance Party.
Sitka’s jazz festival lasted for more than two decades, but ended after turnover and a lack of resources following the pandemic. Juneau music teachers advocated for its continuation in the capital city, and Juneau Jazz Fest is an extension that builds off Sitka’s traditions of combining community and local schools.
Juneau music teachers Michael Bucy and Brian Van Kirk approached Sandy Fortier, executive director of JJAC, to continue music education. Fortier began planning in November of 2023 and the first Juneau Jazz Fest took place last January.
“With my experience being able to go to Sitka jazz for so many years, it really showed me the way to do it,” Van Kirk said. “And I brought that vision to Juneau Jazz and Classics. I kind of bring the school aspect and how to get students involved, and Sandy brings all of her experience with booking artists and venues.”
JJAC will still have its full festival in the spring. Bucy has retired, but will have a middle school combination group of students play in Juneau Jazz Fest. Van Kirk, the band teacher at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé, said the festival comes at the perfect time to brighten up the winter.
“It’s a great time of year to have a jazz festival,” he said. “Winter can get dark and it can get bleak, and it seems like you’re not quite able to grasp spring yet. And it really motivates kids to have something in the wintertime, to see these artists, to have accessibility. There’s no other festival that I know that gives this amount of accessibility to world-class artists.”
Fortier said last year, the festival included Juneau schools and Ketchikan High School. This year Sitka High School is back in the jazz mix. Both Fortier and Van Kirk said they hope students from all around Alaska will participate in the future.
“We want to encourage future musicians and future music audiences,” Fortier said. “And we see the importance of music in the schools, which isn’t enough, in my opinion, and so we supplement that with our professional artists when they come to town. Whenever we fly in an artist they go into the elementary schools and do assemblies, or they’ll coach the middle school or high school bands or orchestras. And we try to give them value, added value and extra education.”
The Kyle Athayde Dance Party is a big band comprised of 20 musicians from around the U.S. and Portugal, plus two from Juneau. Students will get hands-on coaching and a chance to play side-by-side with the musicians.
Free concerts include the Brown Bag concert at 12 p.m. on Thursday at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center and the all-ages Family Concert on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Mendenhall Valley Library. Another free musical opportunity includes three hours of workshops at JDHS on Saturday, from 12 to 3 p.m. The entire community is invited to attend the workshops, Fortier said.
There will be masterclasses for various musical instruments and lectures and Q&A sessions with themes like “A Day in the Life of a Working Musiciannyone ” and “Improvisation: Intimidation No More.”
There will also be a Dance on Friday from 9 to 11 p.m. at the JACC with a $10 cover charge.
Students play in the Juneau Jazz Festival in 2024. (Photo courtesy of Sandy Fortier)
Student bands will be showcased in ticketed evening concerts on Friday and Saturday at JDHS from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Bands include Kayhi Jazz Band, Sitka High School Jazz Band, Thunder Mountain Middle School jazz ensemble, JDHS’ zero-hour and third-hour Jazz Bands, Dominant Seven, and the All-Alaska Jazz Band.
“It’s this great opportunity that these students have to play with these professionals in a concert,” Fortier said. “It makes a huge impact on them.”
Van Kirk agreed.
“They’re very excited to see some of the faces that they saw last year, with the addition of other faces that are coming in,” he said. “The kids have really shown and pushed on their own work. Each group is getting ready a series of songs for them to perform and we’re going to have some of the pros sit in with us, and it’s great to be able to make connections.”
He added that Juneau Jazz Fest has already seen significant community support and he looks forward to its continued expansion in years to come.
Following the students’ performances, the Friday night headliner is Eddie Barbash & the Jazz Fest Symphony. Eddie Barbash is a world-renowned saxophonist and the Jazz Fest Symphony is made up of various members of the Kyle Athayde Dance Party and some of Juneau’s symphonic musicians. The Saturday night Jazz Fest Finale headlines the full Kyle Athayde Dance Party, playing Athayde’s own arrangements.
Tickets are available for purchase online at www.jazzandclassics.org, by phone at (907) 463-3378, or at the door.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.
