And the Award Goes To.....

Photo by Evan Brandt

Daniel Boone Senior Alyx Blumstock, left, and Junior Megan Jolivette prepare to give out the awards at the end of the 43rd Annual Sound Spectacular Jazz Band Festival at Daniel Boone High School Friday.

If awards were given for best sound system (microphones work when they’re supposed to) and best program (handy fill-in sheet makes keeping track of awards easy) the Daniel Boone High School would win them both.

Both were awaiting those who stopped by for the 43rd Annual Sound Spectacular Jazz Festival, along with some stellar performances by area bands.

Photo by Evan Brandt

THE JUDGES TABLE: The judges for the evening were 

Chuck Dressler, Bill Powers and Bob Wagner.

Two bands, the Pottstown High School Jazz Band and the Boyertown Area Senior High School Big
Band, were both rated as “superior,” the highest rating given by judges.

The Phoenixville Area High School Jazz Band earned a rating of “outstanding” and the Daniel Boone High School Jazz Ensemble was the host, so it was not rated, although it did perform Friday night.

Boyertown earned both the outstanding saxophone section and the outstanding trumpet section awards while Pottstown earned the outstanding rhythm section award.

North Penn High School won the outstanding trombone section award.

Photo by Evan Brandt

There was a pretty good size crowd gather as the night went on.

Two saxophonists, Kelli Hess of Boyertown and Marley Bryan of Pottstown, earned outstanding soloists awards, as did Donnie Jackson of Phoneixville.

Honorable mentions for outstanding soloists included drummer Jake Wunderlich from Pottstown and
Bennett Stump, also a drummer, from Wilson High School.

Because I have posted the three songs performed by both the Pottstown and the Boyertown bands twice before on this blog, I will not embed them here tonight.

I will be uploading them to YouTube (Perhaps tomorrow, it’s very late) and you can view them on my YouTube channel.

Also, I will make a playlist of the area bands from the show.

Photo by Evan Brandt 

The ABC Select Jazz Band from Amity Elementary School also played.

Because I could slip out in between when bands like Upper Merion and Ephrata were playing, I was
able to re-charge the batteries in the mighty iPhone and so was able to capture a today of 12 performances on video.

Instead, I will embed the videos of Phoenixville and Daniel Boone, because many of you will not have heard them before.

But before we get to any of that, I should mention that two of the district's elementary school bands played in exhibition, the Birdsboro/Monocacy Elementary Band and the ABC Select Jazz Band from Amity Elementary.

I was charging my battery when the Birdsboro school played but I did get a video sample of the Amity group. Here they are playing "Salsa Special."



And now on to the high schools.

First up is Phoenixville, which began with a singer with a lovely voice for a piece called "Afternoon in Paris," and although they announced her name, it did not appear in the program, so I cannot share it with you.

The soloist names the program did share were Donnie Jackson on trumpet, Karl Sewick on guitar and Spncer Rakoczy on drums.



Despite what is said in the program, this was followed by a number titled "Lady Bird." The soloists are Nick Kissel on trombone and Jake Gould on alto saxophone.



And finally, a very nice work called "Living in a Dream," with some truly excellent trumpet work by soloist Donnie Jackson. It's easy to see (or, rather, hear) why he won an outstanding soloist award.



And now its on to the hosts, Daniel Boone High School and its Jazz Ensembl.

They began with a number named "Pegasus," by Hank Levy. Soloists are Alyx Blumenstock on baritone saxophone, Nichole Risley on flugel horn and Bethany Hallwell on Flute, as well as Justin Frey on alto saxophone.



This was followed by "Unit 7" by Sam Jones, which features Justin Frey as a soloist in alto saxophone.



And Daniel Boone finished up with "A Time for Love, which features James Kalenda on trombone as the soloist.



Oh yes, as for the schools outside The Mercury coverage area, they were rated as follows: Brandywine Heights High School earned an "outstanding," Reading High School earned an "outstanding," Wilson High School earned a "superior," North Penn High School earned a "superior," Ephrata High School earned an "outstanding," and Upper Merion High School earned an "oustanding."

All right, so its 2:15 a.m.

Here's your damn playlist of all the tunes played by Pottstown, Boyertown, Phoenixville and Daniel Boone:

It's Family Fest Time

Blogger's Note: The following was submitted by the organizers of, you guessed it, Family Fest.

The Annual Pottstown Family Fest will be held on Wednesday, March 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Pottstown Senior High School.

This free family-focused event will feature information/resources from more than 30 area organizations, activities for the entire family, roving entertainment, mini sandwiches, drinks, Rita’s water ice, and a variety of door prizes.

Informational booths will be open from 5 to 7 p.m. Door prizes will be awarded at 7 p.m. (must be present to win). Children must be accompanied by an adult.

“Family Fest was developed to enhance, celebrate and explore family dynamics, development, growth, and unity,” said Jenn Brown, director, Pottstown Family Center. “This year’s theme, Stay Healthy, Play More, focuses on buying local and encourages families to find volunteer opportunities they care about so they can ultimately give back to their community.”

This annual event is sponsored by Family Services/Pottstown Family Center, Pottstown Parks and; Recreation, and the Pottstown School District with funding support from the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation.

For more information on Family Fest, contact Jenn Brown, director, Pottstown Family Center, at 610-326-1610 ext. 347 or jbrown@fsmontco.org.

The Art of the Council Meeting

The proposal to convert the former Fecera's Furniture Warehouse into apartments for artists was back before borough council Wednesday night.

Getting Jazzy at Daniel Boone

Photos from last year's performances, courtesy of the Daniel Boon Music Boosters

Daniel Boone High School is the next area high school to hold its jazz event and ten bands will perform over the course of more than five hours on Friday evening.

The concert takes place at Daniel Boone High School, 501 Chestnut St. in Birdsboro.

Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for children.

Five hours of great jazz for six bucks, how often do you get a deal like that.

Pizza, hot dogs and other snack foods will be available for sale.

The event is sponsored by the Cavalcade of Bands, Inc., and organized and presented by the Daniel Boone Music Boosters parent association.

What follows here is a list of the bands which will play and the time of their performance:

-- Brandywine Heights -- 5:30 p.m.

-- Pottstown High School -- 6 p.m.
-- Reading High School -- 6:30 p.m.
-- Wilson High School -- 7:10 p.m.
-- Boyertown Area Senior High School -- 7:40 p.m.
-- North Penn High School -- 8:15 p.m.
-- Ephrata High School -- 8:45 p.m.
-- Phoenixville High School -- 9:15 p.m.
-- Upper Merion High School -- 9:45 p.m.
-- Daniel Boone High School -- 10:15 p.m.

Also performing will be two Daniel Boone elementary school bands.

And if you're wondering what you might be in for if you go, here is a video of a performance by the Boyertown Area High School Big Band at the Jazz at Boyertown event on March 1.

(Pay no attention to the trembling hand holding the camera, and just listen to "Bemsha Swing"....)

Death by Petticoat

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Pottsgrove Manor:

Mary Miley Theobald will conduct a lecture, “Death by Petticoat: American History Myths Debunked", at historic Pottsgrove Manor on Saturday, March 8, from 10 a.m. and again at 12 noon 

Theobald is a Virginia-based author and historian who holds a BA and MA in history from the College of William and Mary and taught American history and museum studies at Virginia Commonwealth University for 13 years.

Mary Miley Theobald

The author of numerous magazine articles, 10 non-fiction books, a mystery series, and four podcasts, Theobald also runs the “History Myths Debunked” blog. 

In her lecture at Pottsgrove Manor, Theobald will speak about common American history myths, including several pertaining to the clothing worn by Americans’ ancestors. 

Theobald will also be signing copies of her book, “Death by Petticoat,” which will be for sale at the site.

The noon session will be a repeat of the 10 a.m. session. Seating for each session is limited. 

Call the site at 610-326-4014 to make reservations. There is a $2 per person suggested donation for this event.

The program kicks off a new exhibit at Pottsgrove Manor, entitled, “To the Manor Worn: Clothing the Eighteenth-Century Household.” 

To modern sensibilities, the clothing people wore in the past can seem strange, uncomfortable, or even unhealthy. 

This exhibit will give visitors a better understanding of clothing and fashion in colonial America, through displays of reproduction clothing as well as a number of original pieces, including items on loan from the collections of Cliveden, Stenton, Wyck House, the Landis Valley Museum, and the Chester County Historical Society. 

Not only will the exhibit showcase mid-eighteenth century fashion, it will also place what people wore in a broader historical context. 

How were clothes made, and who made them? What materials were used, and where did they come from? Who wore what, and why? 

The exhibit will be open through Nov. 2 and can be viewed on a guided tour of Pottsgrove Manor during regular museum hours.

Pottsgrove Manor is located at 100 West King St. near the intersection of King Street and Route 100, just off Route 422, in Pottstown. 

Pottsgrove Manor is operated by Montgomery County under the direction of the Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites Division of the Assets and Infrastructure Department. Regular museum hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

Tours are given on the hour. The last tour of the day begins at 3 p.m. 

The site is closed Mondays and holidays. Groups of ten or more should preregister by calling 610-326-4014. 

For more information, visit the website at www.montcopa.org/pottsgrovemanor. Like Pottsgrove Manor on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pottsgrovemanor.

Getting Regional About Recreation

Mercury Photo by John Strickler

A regional recreation coordinator can help maximize the

impact and expand large regional events like the Pottstown 

Volleyball Rumble.

The state has approved a grant to help fund a regional recreation coordinator for six of the eight municipalities which comprise the Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Planning area.

Called a “circuit rider,” the position is designed to help coordinate regional recreation events and resources and to provide support for townships who may not have a large recreation department.
Among the activities and benefits envisioned for the new position are:

• Cheaper and more successful grant writing due to the nature of the intergovernmental cooperation involved;
• Help in coordinating the use of existing facilities and services and the prevention unnecessary duplication; 
• Developing trails and greenway connections, like linking the Schuylkill River Trail in Pottstown through Chester County to Phoenixville;
• Expanding promotion of existing parks and programs and coordination of the scheduling of major events among them;
• Identifying and facilitating sharing resources among youth sports groups;
• Coordinating public/private partnerships, contributions and volunteer efforts.

David Kraybill, the executive director of the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation, brought the news to the regional planners during their Feb. 26 meeting.

He said the grant is for $67,500 per year for four years for the position.

A circuit rider can also help obtain grants to improve
and expand fields, like the refurbished field at Memorial Park
here in Pottstown.

The foundation is providing office space for whomever is hired and paying the health benefits.

The grant is a diminishing grant, with the participating townships shouldering a slowly increasing portion of the cost, with their annual contribution capped at $5,000.

The townships of East Coventry and New Hanover both opted out of participating.

Since 2010, the foundation has worked off the results of an area recreation study by Penn State which, among other things, reinforced the need for better regional recreation coordination, to get the most bang for the recreation buck, in pursuit of one of the foundation’s major goals — to promote an active lifestyle among area residents.

With the help of grant funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the foundation and regional planning committee have been working to outline a job description and set of responsibilities for the post.

Kraybill told the planners the state indicated that the level of cooperation among the participating townships in laying the groundwork and applying for the position “is the greatest level of cooperation they’ve seen in Pennsylvania.”

“The fact that you cooperate, stands out,” he said.

Here Come the Judges

Crappy Photo by Evan Brandt

The Boyertown Area High School Big Band gets even bigger when they are joined by the Philadelphia University of the Arts Jazz Band for a joint performance during Saturday night's Jazz in Boyertown event.

Well Boyertown High School Music Director Brian Langdon is full of surprises.

One week after shooting video of the Pottsgrove Jazz Fest, I was wondering what I could do to make shooting two of the same bands playing the same three songs, any different from the first time.

Sure I knew one thing I was going to do.

Last week, Boyertown saxophonist Kelli Hess messaged me on You Tube and asked, very politely, if I had recorded their second song which, some of you will remember, I regretted not recording.

Her also saxophone sole was quite lovely and I had promised her I would record it Saturday and I did.

Here it is:



But other than that, what do do differently?

Enter Brian Langdon, who taught elementary music in Pottstown for several years and is now king of the musical hill in Boyertown and is exposing the students, Boyertown and guests, to some amazing musical experiences.

He had a few surprises up his sleeve.

The first surprise was when he invited the evening's judges to join the Boyertown Area High School Big Band he was directing to join in the performance and help remind us why they are judges.

Hint: They know what they're doing.

Because Boyertown was hosting, they were not part of the competition, so Mr. Langdon could have some fun and he made the most of it.

First up, on the vibraphone, was Dr. Marc Jacoby, an associate professor of music at West Chester University, who serves as jazz studies coordinator there.

Then we heard from Rob Stoneback on trombone, who, for 35 years, had led the Rob Sonteback Big Band and has played the trombone for more than 50 years.

And finally, Michael Cremproplo, a degree holder from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, whose first album will be released this year.



And um, did we mention the University of the Arts?

Well although they too were scheduled to perform, and perform they did, they were also part of Mr. Langdon's second surprise.

He merged them with the high schoolers under his care for a joint performance that was not only something to behold, but the kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience that, I suspect, many of those kids will not realize the import of until they wake up this morning.

Luckily for all of you, I recorded that performance, battery light blinking the whole time, and you can watch and, more importantly, listen to it below:



As for the Philadelphia University of the Arts band themselves, well they brought the house down.

Unfortunately for the jazz lovers among my readership, technology giveth and technology taketh away.

My battery was deader than a sardine at a shark's birthday party by the time they took to the stage for themselves, so you'll just have to believe me when I say they were awesome.

Anyway, some of you may recall that last week's performances at Pottsgrove were undermined somewhat by microphone problems (the microphone's not working kind of problems).

Well the curse continued for Pottstown's first number, whose primary victim was once again, Marley Bryan's Tenor saxophone solo in "Gravy Waltz," which you can listen to, with some difficulty, below:




Luckily, the problem was solved with a substitute microphone and the slower song, "In a Sentimental Mood," allowed the solo, once again by Bryan, to be heard and appreciated.

Listen:



And here is Pottstown last tune, "Two Seconds to Midnight," which features solos by Sharif Mohamed on the trombone, Bryan on the tenor sax and Jake Wunderlich on  drums, a solo which earned him one of Pottstown's two best soloist awards.



The second solo award was won by Bryan and Pottstown also earned the designation as the Best Rhythm section.

The entire band earned a rating of "Outstanding," one of three high school bands to earn that rating, making it a truly outstanding night for the Trojans Jazz Meisters.

The ratings in band competitions are, by the way, "Superior," followed by "Outstanding," followed by "Excellent" and then by "Very Good."

No band that performed Saturday night earned a "Superior" rating.

Another band to earn an "Outstanding" rating was the Quakertown High School Community Jazz Ensemble and Natalie Parker, from that band, was also named as one of the three bests soloists for her alto saxophone performance which was, in my humble opinion, truly smoking.

Perhaps that's why they also won the Best Woodwind section award.

They also won the Best Trombone section award.

Also earning an "Outstanding" was the North Penn Navy Band and one of its soloists. I am afraid I did not hear his name clearly enough to attempt to spell it.

The North Penn High School Lab Band earned a rating of "Excellent."

The other band to perform, which also earned a rating of "Excellent," was Joe's Jazz Cafe from Quakertown High School.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention that in between the bands, the audience was treated to another of Mr. Langdon's surprises -- the Boyertown Elementary Jazz Band.

And let me tell you, they were good.

Here they are:



All in all, what I had anticipated being a fairly routine evening turned out to be full of pleasant surprises.

I think its also important to point out that for the Boyertown musicians, the opportunity to play with the University of the Arts musicians, and for the rest of the bands who saw them, Saturday night's music provided perhaps the most important thing education can accomplish -- exposure to new things and new ideas.

Who knows how many lives were changed Saturday night.

Bravo!