A Superior End to the Jazz Band Season

Photo by Evan Brandt

The Pottstown High School Jazz Band after earning a superior rating in the jazz championships at Arcola Intermediate School.

Pottstown High School's intrepid jazz band cleaned up at the 27th annual Jazz Band Championships held at Arcola Intermediate School Friday night.

Photo by Evan Brandt

The Best Rhythm Section, from left, Cole Sellers, bass, 

Jake Fetterman, piano, Connor Christman, drums, 

Gabe Francis, percussion and Gary Olberholtzer, guitar.

Not only did the band earn one of the four "superior" ratings, the highest, in the evening's competition in the Woody Herman Division, they also earned the "best rhythm section" award and saxophonist extraordinaire Marley Bryan won another soloist award.

And, as if that were not enough, three of Pottstown's student musicians were included in the All-Star Jazz Band made up of members of the nine schools which competed Friday night.

The only other local band to play was the Spring-Ford Area High School Jazz Ensemble 1.

We've got videos of their three tunes, Pottstown's performance as well as two of the three All-Star Jazz Band performances before my battery gave up the ghost.

Here are the ratings in order of performance:

• Central Bucks High School South Jazz Ensemble -- Outstanding;
• Plymouth Whitemarsh High School Jazz Band -- Outstanding;
• Radnor High School Jazz Band -- Outstanding;
• North Penn High School Columbia Jazz Band -- Superior;
• Spring-Ford Area High School Jazz Ensemble 1 -- Outstanding;
• Upper Moreland High School -- Superior;
• Springfield Township High School -- Outstanding;
• Souderton High School -- Superior;
• Pottstown High School -- Superior;
• Best Rhythm Section -- Pottstown;
• Best Trombone Section; Souderton;
• Best Trumpet Section; North Penn;
• Best Saxophone Section: Central Bucks South.

Honorable Mentions for Solos included:

• Alex Arnold, drums from North Penn;
• Jake Barber, tenor sax from Upper Moreland;
• Alyssa Roberts, trombone, from Upper Moreland;
• Zach Washel, trombone, from Souderton;
• Weston Bainbridge, drums, from Souderton.

Solists recognized included:

• Ethan Lee, piano, from Radnor;
• Marley Bryan, tenor sax, from Pottstown;
• Ra 'Quan Washington, piano, from Springfield;
• Gia Gajdos, flute, from Springfield.

Here are videos of the full performances, in order:

We start with Spring-Ford's "Night in Tunisia."



They followed that with "Chelsea Bridge"




And they wrapped it up with "The Four of Us:"




Now we move on to Pottstown, with three songs regular visitors of this blog will know well by now. But this is the best I have ever heard the band play them.

First up? "R U Chicken?"




This was followed by "Midnight Voyage" which has Bryan providing a solo throughout the entire four-and-a-half minutes of the song.



And Pottstown finished up with "Ruth," this particular performance featuring a lengthy drum solo from Connor Christman, a departing senior.




The final treat for the evening, a very long evening, was the All-Star Band, put together by the Souderton band director, Adam Tucker, which featured three Pottstown musicians: Sherif Mohamed, Tamer Mohamed and Marley Bryan.

I was able to record two of their three songs, all of which were mastered with only two rehearsals.

Their first number is titled "Officer's Mess."




The final number I recorded is titled (as far as I could tell) "Out in the Dog House."



I hope you've enjoyed all of this. I certainly did, but its after 2 a.m. now, and I would like to go to sleep please.

A Non-Uniform Meeting

The students of Pottstown High School will be pleased to kn ow that the school board seems inclined to give them a chance to prove the school does not need a uniform policy.

Well at least those of you who don't already follow me on Twitter (hint, hint) ... because those lucky few know already.

The trial period, if adopted Monday, will go until the end of the year, and Superintendent Jeff Sparagana said the distirct will do a "three-year look-back" to see how compliance and discipline issues compare for the same period with, and without the uniform policy being in place.

Emmanuel Wilkerson, the student member of the board who presented the idea to the board and has guided it to this point, expressed confidence in the student body's ability to demonstrate that they can responsible dress those bodies.

Also worthy of note was a presentation by Borough Manager Mark Flanders and PAID Executive Director Steve Bamford on the idea of establishing one or several LERTA districts in town as a way to spur economic development.

And whether or not the district has enough money to both replace the flat roof on the administration building, and undertake other roof and masonry repairs at other buildings was a subject of much discussion and will await a vote on Monday night.

Here are the many, many, many Tweets from the meeting.

Blight Fight and Land Banks

Grainy Photo by Evan Brandt

One of several charts showing even Pottstown properties on the auction block at a deep discounts are not selling.

A summit to consider potential remedies for Pottstown's long-standing property problems was held
Wednesday at Connections on High.

The primary methods being presented were: 1) land banks, a relatively knew way to compile and turn-over problem and vacant properties in blighted areas; and 2) enhanced code enforcement strategies that have had some success in Allentown.

Some of the materials distributed at the summit.

Presenters included Winnie Branton, who spoke on behalf of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania; John Kromer, an expert with the Fels Center for Government at the University of Pennsylvania, and Eric Weiss, former director of the bureau of code enforcement and rehabilitation for the City of Allentown.

About 25 people attended the summit, a mix of Pottstown and county officials and representatives of several non-profit agencies including Genesis Housing Corp. and Mosaic Community Land Trust.

We will be publishing more in-depth stories on these presentations in The Mercury in the coming days, but in the meantime, here are the Tweets from the meeting.

(Remember to click the blue "Read Next Page" bar at the bottom of the feed to ensure you see all the Tweets.)

Swing Into Spring Polka Blast at SunnyBrook

The Eddie Forman Orchestra

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by SunnyBrook Ballroom:

The Eddie Forman Orchestra will headline the Historic SunnyBrook Ballroom’s May 3 "Swing into Spring Polka Blast."

Doors open at 11:30 a.m. The fun runs from 12 noon until 8 p.m. Advance tickets cost $20, or $25 on the day of Blast. Children 15 and under are free. Tickets are available online at www.sunnybrookballroom.com

The Eddie Forman Orchestra has received numerous awards in recognition of promoting polka music and culture. Eddie was inducted in the International Polka Music Hall of Fame in 2006. The band, composed of a very diverse group of musicians, has an expanded repertoire of music.

They have performed over the years at many venues throughout New England, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, California and Florida. They have been featured on several cruises to the Caribbean Islands and Bermuda. 

The Boys

The band's enthusiasm, their love for the music they perform, their versatility, ability to embrace a wide range of styles, and their dedication to strong, lively performances make the E.F.O. an enduring success.

In 2010, Polka Hall of Famers Mike Matousek and Frank Liszka, along with former band mates Al Puwalski and Jeff Yash, reunited and added the talents of polka veterans Mike Evan and David Morris to form The Boys. The original band was founded in 1980 and played their signature style of polka music until the group disbanded in 1990. 

 The Boys had recorded five albums, received regional and national honors including the United States Polka Association's "1989 Favorite Band" and "1989 Favorite Album" awards, appeared in a major motion picture, and established themselves as one of the dominant forces in the polka industry.

Their "A New Day" CD won the Polka America Corporation's PACE Award for "Favorite Polish CD" of 2011 and the International Polka Association's "2011 Favorite CD/Album.” The Boys' hit song "In My Old Polish Town" also won the PACE Award tor "2011 Favorite Original Song."

Additionally, Pottstown’s own O'Such Rhythm and Music Band will perform.

There will also be a variety of Polish food available for purchase punctuating the high-energy ethnic heritage of the dance.

The event is a part of SunnyBrook’s Heritage along with an Autumn Polka event on Nov. 15.

Mulch Update and Drug Drop-Off

It was another briskly moving supervisors meeting Monday night as the three supervisors and stuff conducted the township's public business in just under an hour.

There were no major issues on the agenda, and no major issues came up, other than the ubiquitous Mountain Mulch.

Solicitor Paul Bauer reported the company, now nearly a month past their deadline to vacate the Sassamansville Road location, asked for permission to work "dusk till dawn" to remove the giant mulch piles that remain.

The township declined and has instead asked a Montgomery County judge to begin levying sanctions against the company for failing to live up to the terms of the agreement among the company, the township and the long-suffering neighbors.

Below, find the Tweets from the meeting, as they happened.

Land Bank and Blight Summit Wednesday

A "Blight Summit," perhaps the first ever of such, will be held Wednesday at Connections on High on Wednesday, April 22, from 9 a.m. until noon.

Connections on High is located at 238 E. High St., Pottstown.

Officially called the "Montgomery County Land Bank and Blight Summit," it is sponsored by the the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, in coordination with the Borough of Pottstown and Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County.

(You can learn more about it and register for the summit by clicking here.)

Organizers say it is an opportunity to share information and begin a preliminary discussion about land bank and code enforcement issues and related issues in Pottstown and elsewhere.

Agenda Highlights include:

• Land Banks and Land Banking 
• Presentations by John Kromer, Fels Center for Government, University of Pennsylvania and Winnie Branton, Branton Strategies LLC 
• An update te on land banks in Pennsylvania – where they’ve been established, how they are operating, and what lies ahead 
• How a land bank might benefit nonprofit and private developers in Montgomery County 
• Start-up and initial operating costs. 
• Strategic Property Maintenance Code Enforcement with Eric D. Weiss, former director, Bureau of Code Enforcement and Rehabilitation City of Allentown 
• Innovative and effective code enforcement practices that may be suitable for replication in Montgomery County

Pasta, Sauce, Meatballs and Music

6th grader Julian Paskel, ready to play.

And this girl, was ready to eat.

Another year, another Jazz and Spaghetti Dinner at Goodwill Fire Company.

As always, organizers, headed up by Kevin Owens, President of the Pottstown School Music Association, did a bang-up job.

Food was cooked; tables were set up; chairs were placed; tablecloths; balloons (news this year); trash taken out; sauce ladled; music performed. It was, in other words, a smashing success.

The event raises money to pay for music education in Pottstown, including performances outside the area, spreading the word about Pottstown musicians.

Mike Vought, John Armato and Kevin Owens.

Of particular note this year, to this seasoned veteran anyway, was the quality of the younger bands.

The elementary jazz band was excellent. Unfortunately, they played first and, as the official ladler of sauce, I was unable to escape my duties and get a recording.

But trust me, they were good.

I know the high school jazz band gets a lot of ink from me. That's because my son plays with them and I am at most of their performances.

I was going to try to scale back, but they unveiled a new number yesterday and it is one of my all-time favorites -- "Birdland," which I was introduced to through the version by the jazz fusion band Weather Report. (Click here for a link to a live performance video with the great Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul and the always mighty Jaco Pastorius.)

So here it is the Pottstown High School Jazz band's version of the classic (I'm told they only practiced it twice, maybe three times.):

Jo Ann Bathurst and her mom,
Florence Schumacher, 103

And really stepping up their game was the middle school jazz band, which was remarked upon by many, not just myself. In fact, I would say to the high school jazz band, you had better watch your back, those middle school kids are gaining on you.

Also noteworthy was the presence of four generations of the Bathhurst/ Schumacher/ Francis genome.

Florence Schumacher, 103,  was there, as she was last year. She is the mother of Jo Ann Bathurst, who is the mother of School Board member Amy Francis, who was there with her husband Julian, who are the parents of Gabe and Chloe Francis, both of whom are jazz band members.

So, good-on-ya I say.

Anyhoo, a good time was had by all, and there were lots of willing hands to help with the clean-up, including School Board member Kim Stillwell and her retinue.

This video gives a quickie over-view of the fun, and is followed by the Tweets and photos I managed to sneak in between lading sauce and spooning meatballs.




And here are the Tweets: