“It was the culmination of a year of hard work and learning throughout the school year and great preparation for our first-ever recording experience this month at a local studio,” said Coyle, an accomplished bassist and composer.

To fuel this year’s concert program, students explored traditional jazz, bebop, modern jazz, gospel, blues, reggae, and ska, as styled across many cities and countries—Philadelphia, New Orleans, Chicago, Houston, Brazil, and Jamaica—and performed by many of the greats including Miles Davis, Charlie Hunter, Chaka Khan, Horace Silver, Duke Ellington, Robert Glasper, Michelle Zauner, Thelonius Monk, Kirk Franklin, Tracy Chapman, George Harrison, and Doc Watson.

The evening featured the sixth grade Groove Academy composed of piano, guitar, and drums; the Middle School Rhythm Ensemble with piano, guitar, bass, and drums; and Upper School Jazz which includes violin, saxophone, piano, guitar, bass, and drums. The ensembles often perform at school assemblies, and this year Upper School Jazz played a concert at a local elementary school as well as collaborated with the Upper School Chorus at the holiday concert.

Throughout this school year, the US Jazz students studied the history and sounds of gospel and blues. They developed a deeper understanding of these two formative American music traditions and how they connect to jazz. At Jazz Night, they played “I Remember” and “Colors in the Dark” by Robert Glasper, a pioneer of the fusion between modern jazz and gospel influences, and five blues songs, including "All Blues" by Miles Davis and “Straight No Chaser” by Thelonius Monk.

The students from US Jazz and MS Rhythm ensembles are recording in early May at Silent Partner Recording, a beautiful recording space right nearby in West Germantown. Guided by Coyle and using class time, they made plans to prioritize the songs and sounds they wanted to document and try different approaches to their repertoire that would translate well to a recording. The results should be fantastic, and they hope to share recordings in the Fall of 2025.

Coyle added, “I genuinely feel that we raised our bar this year, for how we learn about the music we perform and how well we can perform it. Most importantly, the students brought great energy and spirit to their preparation and performances.” 

Learn more about GFS’ music-making opportunities and upcoming concerts.