On Tuesday, March 5th, the Dell Rapids Jazz Ensemble competed at the “Jazz on the Upper Great Plains Festival” held on the campus of Augustana College.  The group received fourth place out of twelve bands in Class A competition.  Drum set player Zane Lodmell received an award for “Outstanding Musicianship” for his drum solo on the Joe Zawinul piece “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.”  Later that evening, the members of the band had the opportunity to hear one of the world’s greatest trumpet players perform with the Augustana College “Northlanders” Jazz Ensemble.  Dizzy Gillespie protege Jon Faddis displayed his high-note playing skills, leaving everyone in the audience amazed at his abilities.

On Thursday, March 14th, the jazz band competed in the University of South Dakota “Coyote Jazz Festival” in Vermillion.  The band placed eighth out of fourteen schools from South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska in Class 2A competition.  The scoring in Class 2A was very close, as only three points separated fifth place from eighth place.  Once again, Senior band member Zane Lodmell received an award for “Outstanding Soloist” on the drum set.

The Dell Rapids Jazz Ensemble will be performing once again at the annual “Pop, Popcorn, and Jazz” concert.  This event takes place on Tuesday night, March 26th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Dell Rapids Middle School Commons.  The concert is FREE and open to the public.  However, if you would like to help the group raise some money, you can purchase all you can eat popcorn and all you can drink pop at the concert.  The cost is $5 for adults, $3 for students, and children age five and under can eat and drink for free.

The DR Jazz Band will also compete in the SDSU/Brookings Optimist Jazz Festival on April 4th, and they will peform for a rating at the South Dakota Region II Large Group Contest on April 17th.