Gulf High School's

The Gulf High School 'Jazz Fusion' is a jazz ensemble performing group that meets five days a week as a class, where we rehearse jazz standards, scales, and styles. The Jazz Ensemble has performed at the Lakeside Jazz Festival in Port Orange, Florida, at Disneyworld, at the All-American Music Festival in Orlando, and even for the late Florida Governor Lawton Chiles. Annually, the jazz ensemble travels to area elementary schools during the 'Great American Teach-In' in November. Our goal is to share our musical talents with the community and educate the public about jazz music.

Congratulations to the following people for being selected for this year's jazz ensemble:

Saxophones

Lead Altos: Liz Worley, Chris Greco
2nd Alto: Jennifer Bennett, Jared Cross
Lead Tenor: Thomas Myers
2nd Tenor: Thomas Hatcher
Baritone Saxophone: Lauren Walcott

Trombones

Lead Trombone: CiCi Day
2nd Trombone: Huestin Leffingwell
3rd Trombone: Nathan Collins
4th Trombone: Devon Aursland

Trumpets
Lead Trumpet: Brad Bosley, Justin Cameron
2nd Trumpet: Jorj Tchotchev, Thomas Colontonio
3rd Trumpet: Carmelo Calcagno, Troy Green
4th Trumpet: Harley Siena, Taylor Ferreira

Rhythm
Guitar: J.P. Saylor
Bass: Anthony Mosiello, Rachel Byrkit
Drums: Livi McLeod, Yusuf El-Shihibi, Adam Henley
Piano: Brian Ziegler, Heather Peterson

Upcoming Performance Dates...

• See you next school year!!!

'Jazz Fusion' Plays At Annual Assessment

The members of 'Jazz Fusion' took their show on the road on February 7th to perform at their annual FBA Music Performance Assessment at the Performing Arts Center at Wesley Chapel. The band performed 'Doxy' by Sonny Rollins/arr. by Mark Taylor, 'For Lena and Lennie' by Mark Taylor, and 'Caravan' by Duke Ellington/arr. by Mike Tomaro. After playing a great set, the band earned an overall 'Excellent'. Congrats to everyone on a great effort!

Check out our performance below in the recording section.

Jazz Students Perform for the Great American Teach-In

The GHS Jazz Ensemble traveled to Anclote Elementary and Locke Elementary to share jazz music and instrumental music to elementary students. The band demonstrated each instrument and played some tunes to show how these instruments are used. A lot of fun was had by all and the young students seemed to enjoy what they saw and heard.

Click here to see pictures of the jazz ensemble and our color guard performing at these schools.

Recordings

Click on the links to hear some of the music the band has prepared for past assessments:

"I've Got You Under My Skin" by Cole Porter

"Will You Walk With Me?" by Les Aldrich

"Under Lock and Key" by Lennie Niehaus

• 2008 •

"Doxy" by Sonny Rollins/arr. Mark Taylor

"For Lena and Lennie" by Mark Taylor

"Caravan" by Duke Ellington/arr. by Mike Tomaro

Click on the links to hear the music we performed for our annual 'Spring Exravaganza!' on April 30th, 2007

"The Mask of the Chili Pepper" by Doug Beach and George Shutack

"It Had To Be You" by Isham Jones, arranged by Mark Taylor

"Sidewinder" by Lee Morgan, arranged by Mark Taylor

"Birdland" by Josef Zawinul, arranged by John Higgins

A few more pictures are on the Downloads page.