Friday April 29th in the Black Box Theater there was a Jazz concert. This is not just any other Jazz concert, it was actually Mr. McKenzie’s last concert at Lincoln. Ricky Martinez said, “It breaks my heart. It broke everyone’s even seniors, but I’m happy for Mr.McKenzie. It’s an amazing opportunity for him. Plus who knows maybe he’ll be my band director in college one day.”

This concert was a very amazing and a touching concert. As promised there was dancing, Swing, Latin, Rock, and Boogaloo tunes! It was very evident by the way the students performed that a lot of time and effort was put into the music. There were beautiful solos, even piano, and drum solos. The crowd was very involved in the music and students even went on the floor and danced to the music. It took a little bit for people to get out on the dance floor but once one brave student jumped out onto the dance floor, a handful of others followed. Ricky said “Our performance went really well. Everything fell into place. One of the best performances our jazz band has ever had. Performance was tight, energetic, and fun!”

  Mr. McKenzie introduced the songs and showed appreciation for the bands in between songs, it was very touching to watch. The good relationship between the band and their conductor really showed through in this last performance together. It was said by Mr. McKenzie during the concert  “ you will never perform with these people, in front of this crowd, playing these songs, and that’s what makes each performance special.” The ambiance was full of life the music flowed through the room, solos rung out in such beautiful notes they gave me goosebumps. I have never been to a concert before and the experience was completely life changing. The music was so upbeat and different from anything I’ve heard.

The theater was converted into something more than just a place of performance, it also involved the audience making full use of the space in the room. I think having the dancing audience was able to add to the music further giving the full experience of jazz music, although I did not dance I was better able to appreciate the music when I saw students jumping up and getting out on the floor to dance, and even the people who were not out on the dance floor, moved to the rhythm of the music in their chairs. Ricky Martinez said “Everything about jazz band is just so special. Everyone in that class cares about music and it just feels amazing to know there’s more people who share your passion for jazz.”