(photo by Beyond the Bell)

The Beyond the Bell All District Jazz program recently celebrated its seventh anniversary by performing in the 22nd annual Los Angeles Central Avenue Jazz Festival. The All-City District Jazz Big Band, comprised of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) high school students, has opened the festival since 2010. The jazz band rehearses two Saturdays per month and during summer. The musicians performed jazz classics such as “Donna Lee” by Charlie Parker, “Doxy” by Sonny Rollins and “Where or When” by Richard Rodgers, and contemporary tunes such as “Brother Mister” by Christian McBride.

This year’s soloists are saxophonists Steve Murillo and William Brandt, bassist Dario Bizio and drummer Terran Artis.  Tony White, of Beyond the Bell’s Music and Entertainment Education program, and J.B. Dyas, from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, lead the jazz program.

Beyond the Bell offers the jazz program and other afterschool musical programs at schools throughout Los Angeles. For information, visit btb.lausd.net.