School Jazz Hits Big Time
  By Deirdre Cox Baker (QC Times)

  Latin jazz great Victor Mendoza recently has played sold-out concerts in London and Tel Aviv, was a guest soloist with   the Carlos Chavez Symphony Orchestra in Mexico City, and appeared with the Milan Svoboda Orchestra in Prague.

  On Jan. 10, he takes the stage in Rock Island with North Scott High School's jazz band from Eldridge, Iowa at the
  Augustana College Latin Jazz Youth Concert.

  A vibraphonist, composer and native of Mexico, Mendoza's appearance is part of an educational outreach effort with   Augustana's music department, salsa band Orquesta Alto Maiz and drummer James Dreier, who also teaches at the   college.

  Dreier said the event is designed to spread the vibes of good Latin jazz music and to teach young people about the style,   popular in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Brazil.

  Drier looked to North Scott High School when the event was being planned. He knows jazz band director Mike
  McMann and had learned of the group's reputation.

" We wanted a school that could come in and do one rehearsal and a concert. We needed a strong band, and one that had   proved itself before," he said. He hopes the concert will be a community event, including people from the North Scott
  area as well as those from Mexico who want to hear Mendoza.

  McMann said exposure to artists like Mendoza also helps the students in their musical knowledge. The fired-up band   members even asked to practice during their Christmas vacation.

" We're looking forward to it," McMann said of the concert, adding this is the first time North Scott will play in a
  Quad-Cities venue like Centennial Hall.

  Activities kick off at 1 p.m. Jan. 10 with open rehearsals and demonstrations on how to incorporate Latin percussion
  into a "Big Band" setting. All events are free.

  Dreier said the concert itself is subsidized by local music stores, including West Music, Foster Family Music and McKay   Music. This will keep the ticket price to $3 for those under age 18. Information also has been sent to all schools in a six-
  county area to attract more young musicians.

  Mendoza, a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, has an international reputation as a jazz educator and   conducts master classes at music schools and universities. He has made several professional recordings, and was named   one of the Outstanding Latin Jazz Artists of the Year by Latin Beat Magazine. His latest CD is "Black Bean Blues."

  The event is being underwritten by the Augustana Multi Cultural Events Fund, Humanities Fund and School of Music.

  Deirdre Cox Baker can be contacted at (563) 383-2492 or dbaker@qctimes.com.