Carroll Senior High School strives for musical excellence, pursues national acclaim
SOUTHLAKE — The Carroll Senior High School Jazz program will spend six hours Sunday recording what could be their ticket to another invitation to a nationally respected jazz competition.
"These kids, in particular, tend to be really highly motivated," said David Lown. "They love listening to the music. They love to dive into the history of the music. They love to play together on their own."
Director of Jazz Bands David Lown said he is fortunate to guide the self-driven musicians. His harvest primarily comes from middle schools feeding into a program that has worked hard to keep its reputation since the early '70s.
Lown has been with Jazz program members five of the six times they've been to the Essentially Ellington Jazz Competition at Lincoln Center since 2007. He's hoping they make another trip in May 2025.
"Nothing is guaranteed, though, and the last couple of years, all of these students have learned what it feels like to not have our name called when the announcement is made," he said. "So I think there's a lot of fire and energy to really pull off a good recording."
The program had four All-State players among the 21 members, which they said is nearly unheard of. The group plays as a big band and in ensembles like "Blue Moon Quartet."
"It's just like, it's like half work and music, and then half just like chilling with your friends and communicating through music," said Matteo Longarani.
The senior is classically trained on the piano. Longarani said he's been playing for 14 years. And, of course, he speaks jazz like baristas talk coffee. His comes with punches of passion.
"What jazz musicians call practicing is called the woodshed. That's a term for going to a place to practice. So I just shed," he said.
It shows. Lown said jazz greats had a hard time expressing what defines jazz. Longarani has a working definition.
"First, obviously, improvisation, right? Mr. Lown always says, you know, we're composing on the spot; we're like Mozart, right?" Longarani said.
Lown said the composition and performance happen at the same time. He has used the simplicity of speaking as an analog example.
"When we're talking, like right now we're not interrupting each other. We're both listening to each other and progressing the conversation as we both talk at the same time," Lown said. "It's almost incomprehensible to think about in human speech, yet we do this musically."
Longarani said the technical aspects and the vibe make up the rest. His peers are immersed in the genre, too. Braxton Gunser started getting drum lessons in the eighth grade.
Gunser is a junior who follows the flow of the tune.
"The primary focus of a drum set is to keep time. So they'll be playing the melody, and I can just follow along, and then when I comp or solo over it," he said.
The camaraderie, the musicality, and a certain air of coolness come with being a jazz musician. Being an excellent musician means commitment in the "shed" to honor the music that scats, shuffles, rumbles, rattles, and shifts a room.
"So there are a lot of things that are motivating here, just competitively," Lown said. "But more than that, the music itself is motivating because we want to reach the level of those past masters that we hear the recordings of."
