Monterey Jazz Festival

Diego Martinez, Editor in Chief
October 10, 2018

On the weekend of Sept. 21, the Downey High Jazz 1 Band attended the annual Monterey Jazz Festival. The Jazz 1 group players hold themselves to high regards when it comes to their performance and note the event as their best in years.

The show time for the Downey High musicians began at 3:00 PM and band director Cory Olariu presented the Jazz 1 players. Olariu directed the Jazz 1 players through five songs, each highly enjoyed by the players. The setlist included favored songs such as “Wyrgly” by Maria Schneider, and groovy songs compositions such as “Besame Mucho Are” by Maynard Ferguson.

Sophomore guitarist in Jazz 1, Ivan Cuevas, enjoyed songs such as “Besame Mucho” by Maynard Ferguson and “Lifelong Friends” by Kris Berg. He pointed out the song “Wyrgly” by Maria Schneider to be his favorite in the setlist as it gave him strong vibes that he enjoyed to play along with his fellow players. Cuevas also noted that he found his best moments were listening to other jazz groups.

“‘Wyrgly’ was by far my favorite song. The feelings the composition gives off is amazing with its intricate harmonies and melodies,” Cuevas stated, “…the coolest part about the festival was witnessing other great and skilled jazz bands like Next Gen playing songs.”

The preparations for the festival took the whole 2017-18 school year, making it a good feeling for junior trumpet player Aaron Villalobos when it came to perform. He practiced the setlist numerous times making him feel accomplished after the festival.

“We worked all of last year for this festival, and I felt satisfied when we played the songs,” Villalobos stated. “The hard work put into the songs makes it satisfying and I really enjoy playing with such talented jazz musicians. ”

With the practice paying off, players such as senior drummer Andrew Yanes, find the reflection process to be very positive. He feels the performance to be a great contrast from last year’s festival to this one, and felt more comfortable playing this concert than any other previous concert. Yannes noted working with his colleagues to be the most helpful factor in preparation.

“We all work with each other and help each other out with the music and playing techniques,” Yanes stated. “This is how we make our bands good in our performances.”

The Jazz 1 players felt accomplished afterwards and look forward to next year’s festivals. The band plans to add newer genres into the setlist to try and diversify their sound even more than before. The players are working towards another performance in the coming Fall Jazz Concert at the Downey High School Theater on Oct. 17.

About the Contributors

Diego Martinez, Editor in Chief

Former Copy Editor, Diego Martinez, 12, has been on The Downey Legend staff for the past 2 years and is going into his first as Co-Editor in Chief. Outside of the classroom Martinez enjoys listening to various music genres, learning and composing on his guitar, and writing on the side. Although undecided of his college major, Martinez aims to continue to express his creative side by one day recording his own music and living off his art in music and writing.

As someone who loves to showcase his thoughts through creative expression, Martinez believes that we can use our own struggles to create art. “I think the thought process that I like to keep is that life is uncertain to the point where we lose trust in ourselves and begin to doubt the ability to slay our own dragons,” Martinez stated. “It took me more than just a small while to realize that we can always smile at our own shadow, our own subconscious traits that shackle us, and write down every small aspect that forms our very soul - and make art with it.”

Amy Garcia, Photographer

Having a passion for photography, Amy Garcia, 11, joins the Downey Legend to express her love for taking pictures and shares her journey on how it all started. “I needed an art class, but I ended up loving it [photography],” Garcia said. “I like taking pictures because they’re like portals, you can see the world without leaving your house.”

As a junior moving into her senior year Amy is a quiet, BTS-loving student that sees the reality in things. When I first met Amy in my senior year of high school I had the impression that she would be funny, nice, creative, and memorable. And throughout the time I got to know her, in Newspaper, I found out that I was right. Amy ended up being exactly what I thought she would be and more. She is a great friend and I can’t wait to see where the world takes her because I have a feeling that she is going to do big things in life. Not only is she beautiful but she is also an extremely intelligent and amazing person who values trust a lot. It might take a while for her to trust you but in the end it would all be worth it because you get to meet an astonishing person that you’ll never be able to forget.

-Jessica Garcia