Del Val’s jazz band, the Golden Blues, is in full swing for the new year as band members prepare for their shows across New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
This year’s selection of songs is “Vine Street Rumble” by Benny Carter, “Curveball” by Paul Baker, and “The Jazz Police” by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band.
The Golden Blues’ show dates for 2025 will be: at Steelstacks on March 2nd; at NJAJE on March 4th; at the District Arts Festival on March 27th; at Moonglowers on March 28th; at JP Stevens on April 11th; the Kingwood Jazz Festival on April 30th; and the Spring Concert on May 20th.
Thomas Hayden, the Golden Blues director, wants his members to not only excel in the Golden Blues, but to exceed their expectations as musicians.
“We’re not aware of our own limits often,” Hayden said. “Most of the time we’re putting them up ourselves, so we think ‘This is all I’m going to achieve’, so that’s where we’re aiming for and that’s where we stop when we arrive. If I can force you to keep [practicing], keep pushing yourself, we can see what we can achieve both as an ensemble and then also individually. I know I’ve been able to push players the most in jazz band to achieve individual accomplishments in terms of learning things and continuing into music. This is my best avenue to really push people forward.”
Freshman Charlotte Lilly has seen a lot of improvement since she joined the Golden Blues.
”I’ve gotten so much better. Going in, I had only played trumpet for maybe two weeks total. And now, I’m doing it; I’m hitting all the notes, [and] I’ve gotten more confident, too. It’s helped me a lot.”
Despite being teacher and student, Hayden and senior Griffin Engelhardt have bonded over their mutual love of jazz, and both love its free spirited nature.
“I like when I can just listen and lose myself in the feel,” Hayden said. “I really like listening to music where I know that the performer enjoyed making that music.”
“The thing about jazz band is the improvisational part of it,” Engelhardt said. “It’s really cool how you just make up a solo or a melody on the spot.”
Hayden shares how rewarding being a part of the Golden Blues can be.
“The jazz band is like the reward for doing all the work to learn the instrument,” Hayden said. “This is why we’ve spent all this time learning technique, extending our range, finding good tone, so that we can sit in an ensemble and play high-level music and really do that stuff.”
Lilly encourages students to play in the Golden Blues.
“There’s a lot of really cool people in jazz band,” Lilly said. “The music is really fun. It’s challenging, and that’s what makes it fun, because when you get it right, it’s even more rewarding. It helps you do stuff you didn’t think you could do.”
