The 44th annual UW–Platteville Jazz Festival kicked off with the Platteville High School Hillmen Jazz Ensemble Feb. 7.
Members of the high school group meet Mondays at 7:15 a.m. to study the jazz styles of the last century. Included in their festival performance were: “Where Do We Go From Here,” “Black Coffee,” and “The Shiek.”
Following the performance, the students received written and verbal comments about their performance. One of the guest adjudicators was Platteville High School graduate Mark Urness, bass instructor at Lawrence University in Appleton. During the clinic portion of the day, jazz students continued their study of style and ensemble work. They were also able to hear other jazz ensembles and combos from Iowa and as far away as Green Bay.
The Hillmen Jazz also performed at Planning for PHS on Monday, Jan. 10 and performed at a high school basketball game.