Students Celebrate 10th Anniversary Performance at Cambridge Jazz Club

The Groton School Jazz Ensemble and several small student jazz combos performed at Ryles, the oldest jazz club in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in late January. It was the tenth annual Ryles performance by Groton students.

Twenty-five students, representing every form, performed to a packed house that included alumni, locals, parents, faculty, and students, as well as Headmaster Temba Maqubela and former Headmaster Bill Polk.

“Our yearly outing to Ryles gives students the opportunity to perform in an actual jazz club, inspiring them to give their best and beyond and to prepare with vigor and enthusiasm,” says Mary Ann Lanier, Arts Department head and director of instrumental music. “It’s a lot of fun, and the ensembles always improve tremendously through their careful preparation.”

The larger jazz ensemble, called Soul Sauce, features Sixth Formers Zahin Das on piano, Steven Anton on drum set, and Drew Bassilakis on guitar, along with Fourth Former Jonathan Lamson on guitar and Third Former Andrew Lei on electric and upright bass. Christine Bernard, a Fifth Former, leads the saxophones and also plays flute, while Michael You and Eddie Uong play tenor sax.

The lower school jazz combo, called Soy Sauce, features Second Former Joshua Guo on piano and Third Formers Gloria Hui on drum set, Brian Xiao on alto sax, and Andrew Lei on bass. In two numbers, “Blue Bossa” by Kenny Dorham and “I’ll Remember April” by Gene da Paul, Soy Sauce wowed the crowd with their energy and tight ensemble.

Other highlights of the evening included the Riverside Combo’s rendition of Erroll Garner’s ballad, “Misty,” sung exquisitely by Anson Jones '17, and the Blues Combo's grooving with Grover Washington’s “Mister Magic,” featuring Angus Warren '16 on bass.

The evening concluded with the audience crowding the dance floor as Soul Sauce played their own version of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “September.”

Photos by Kenji Kikuchi

Back