Spread the word about Hot Java, Cool Jazz!

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eHot Java Cool Jazz is part of Starbucks’ ongoing commitment to providing opportunities for young people in our community. When tickets are purchased from Roosevelt Jazz Boosters, 100% of the proceeds benefit our program. In addition to buying a ticket, you can help us spread the word by inviting your friends and neighbors. You can sign up here to support ticket sales for Starbucks 26th Annual Hot Java Cool Jazz concert, which includes a performance by our Jazz Band 1!

Starbucks 26th Annual Hot Java Cool Jazz

7-9 p.m. March 31, 2023, Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101

2/21/23 update: Roosevelt Booster tickets are sold out, but you can still buy direct from the Paramount / STG website and proceeds still are distributed to all five schools! ↓↓↓ Click below ↓↓↓

GET TICKETS HERE

Innovative, resourceful volunteers help make Vocal Jazz Florida trip a success

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Vocal Jazz made Roosevelt proud at the Jazz Education Network’s 14th Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., where our 19 students participated in an event billed as part music festival, part networking, part education, and all inspiration! Helping to ensure student success during the Jan. 4-7 conference was a nimble team of Roosevelt parent volunteers and educators who deserve a hearty round of applause from us:

  • VJ parent representative Tracy Hillstrom was the rock star behind the planning, budgeting, and most of the booking, with VJ parent rep Karl Hillstrom jumping in with some of the air travel and ground transportation logistics.
  • VJ parent volunteer Nicole Ross found the outfit to rent an upright bass, with Karl taking care of the final mile in getting the account set up and the delivery in Orlando.
  • VJ parent volunteer Kristen Glibertson was the point person for food, both receiving grocery deliveries, picking up pizzas delivered to a hard-to-describe location, and working with restaurants.
  • Kristen and Karl and JB2/3 Director Michael Van Bebber (who stepped in to chaperone) all helped Vocal Jazz Director Aimee Mell keep an eye on 19 teens while traveling. And, of course, Mr. Van Bebber was the ear of a second jazz educator, as well as helping with some technical stuff for the rhythm section. Thank you, Tracy, Karl, Nicole, Kristen, Mr. Van Bebber and Ms. Mell, for your dedication to Roosevelt Jazz!

Swing into the season with Jazz Nutcracker!

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The Roosevelt Jazz Nutcracker

Saturday, December 3rd  |  7:30 PM

and

Sunday, December 4th  |  2:00 PM

** doors open 1 hour prior to curtain **

Celebrate the Holidays with the 2022-2023 Roosevelt Jazz Band
under the new direction of our inspiring Hannah Mowry! (see bio)

For the 23rd year, The Band will perform
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s swinging Jazz Nutcracker Suite
in Roosevelt’s Performing Arts Theatre.

 

Click Here to Buy Tickets

 

Click Here to Buy Tickets

Health Information

Masks are optional but highly recommended for indoor large gatherings. Safety Guidelines are subject to change, depending on current King County and Seattle Public Schools health guidance. Check rooseveltjazz.org the day of your show for the latest info.

 

Earshot Jazz recap; Nutcracker coming up!

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Wow! What a show! The Roosevelt Jazz Band started off the year with their first public performance at the Earshot Jazz Festival. Opening for the renowned Count Basie Orchestra, the band, with the amazing and energetic new Director, Hannah Mowry, swung hard.

Next up, the band will be featuring the music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn in the Roosevelt Jazz tradition, “Jazz Nutcracker”. Save the date for December 3 and 4, 2022.

Ticket information coming soon! Stay tuned to this website for more info.

Scotty Barnhart joins in with the Roosevelt Jazz Band. Photo: Jim Levitt

Welcome, Hannah!

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Just a quick update to let you all know how excited we are to welcome Hannah Mowry as Roosevelt High School’s new Band Director. She comes to us most recently from Mt. Si High School where she served as the Assistant Band Director. Here’s a bio below, and we encourage you to check back for updates later this summer!

Hannah Mowry is a trumpet player, songwriter, educator, and advocate. Originally from Tri-Cities, Washington, Mowry obtained her Bachelor’s in Music Education with a minor in Interdisciplinary Honors from Central Washington University and graduated from the William O. Douglas Honors College cum laude. She is now pursuing her Master’s degree in Music Education from the American Band College of Central Washington University.

As an undergraduate, Mowry served as the principal trumpet player for the top classical ensembles at Central Washington University, including the Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra. She has been a featured soloist with the award-winning Central Washington University Jazz Band 1. Both the Wind Ensemble and the Jazz Band 1 have performed at the WMEA and Northwest Regional NAfME Conventions in 2016 and 2017. In her time as a student musician, she performed with artists such as Ingrid Jensen, Jeff Coffin, Terrell Stafford, Dafnis Prieto, Derico Watson, Victor Wooten, Matt Harris, and more.

Mowry can now be found actively performing around the greater Seattle area, primarily in jazz big bands and small groups of all genres. She currently plays with the PH Factor, the Jazz Police, ProAm Big Band, and more. In 2020, she recorded on PH Factor’s EP release “In Case of Emergency: Break Glass”, and in 2017 on Seattle-based singer/song-writer Alec Shaw’s album “Uh Oh and the Oh Wells”. Mowry plays with groups whose music ranges from folk to rock, blues, hip-hop, funk, and more. She is currently playing trumpet and writing music for a contemporary funk fusion group in Seattle called Jamn. Most recently in June of 2022, Mowry shared her own musical compositions that showcased her take on contemporary singer/songwriter and R&B/funk.

From 2018-2022, Mowry served as the Co-Director of Bands at Mount Si High School, teaching Wind Bands, Jazz Bands, Orchestra, and various music elective courses. Mount Si High School Jazz Band 1 is a five-time attendee to the Hot Java Cool Jazz performance hosted by Starbucks, and a seven-time finalist to the Essentially Ellington Festival in New York City. The band has been invited to the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in 2017, as well as the Western International Band Clinic in 2019. In addition to these clinic and festival performances, the jazz ensembles perform at two home concerts each year, attend local festivals, and host an annual community Swing Dance that gives back to a local charity. 

Mowry co-founded the Central Washington University Women in Jazz Day in 2018, and has continued to be involved as a panel discussion moderator the last two years. As an active jazz musician and jazz educator, diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the heart of her musical philosophy.