Hot Java Cool Jazz

There was a point in my life when I thought big-band music was dead because no one seemed to play it, and old recordings fell far short of capturing the liveliness and the depth and tone of great jazz, risking becoming a relic of the ebullience of the WWII and post-war period. But it is still alive - the music teachers of Seattle have worked hard and worked their musicians hard to produce fantastically good jazz music in a major city venue, with a professional sound that goes far beyond just good - it's become a signature for Seattle and Starbucks that have made this one event a yearly event for me, my family and friends. Amazing what these music teachers can elicit from high school students. All the kids seem 100% committed to excellence in music, and they deliver the goods at Hot Java, Cool Jazz. Each of the five schools brought out the best of the best, and the audience was overwhelmed by one solo performance in particular, that of young blues vocalist, Sage Eisenhower, who carried off a performance you'd expect of a seasoned pro in mid-30s or more. Standing ovation for her performance was well-deserved, and I hope to be buying her albums in a few years. I haven't always attended the event, but I've never been disappointed as the kids have obviously worked extremely hard to get the music right, to the point where it becomes a pleasure for them to play in performance, rather than just a lot of work. Kudos galore to Starbucks for sponsoring this event and for keeping this great music form alive in young people. I expect to start seeing many of these musicians developing careers in music.

The crowd was electrifying! The bands were well worth hearing and experiencing. Great talent on so many levels from every school that performed. It was really cool!