Music educator preps MTHS jazz students for Essentially Ellington in NYC

Trombonist and music educator Francisco Torres spent the day Monday coaching 18 Mountlake Terrace High jazz students who will be competing during the 31st annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival in New York City next month.

Mountlake Terrace High School’s Jazz 1 program was one of 20 jazz bands selected as finalists, with Puget Sound area schools Bothell and Shorewood high schools also participating. The three-day festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JCLO) runs from April 30 to May 2 and will feature music education programs and competitions, closing with a final concert and an awards ceremony.

Mountlake Terrace is no stranger to participating at Essentially Ellington. Under the direction of Darin Faul, Jazz 1 is an 11-time finalist in the Essentially Ellington Jazz Band Competition, and most recently competed last year.

Torres was sent to work with all three Puget Sound-area bands. He said his mission is to “sharpen their skills a little bit, see what they’re looking for in the competition. Hopefully, they’ll grab it and make them a little bit better.”

As an example, he pointed to how MTHS drummer Luca Manzo changed a section of a song the second time the band played it. “He has a lot of energy, but he needs to control that energy,” Torres said. “I told him I love the fact that he recreated it, but you need to realize that this is a band. You can’t just stick out.”

Torres said young musicians should think about their education and career path, and that includes studying with the right musician instead of chasing big-name programs.

“Seattle is not the jazz capital of the world, and at this age, you know, students are trying to just find a place to play,” he said. “I’m sure there’s a lot of fantastic professional musicians here, and I know many musicians, but this music has to be played with the other musicians that are even better than you, that have a different concept.”

A native of Hermosillo, Sonora in Mexico, Torres has emerged as a first-class arranger and composer, particularly in the field of Latin jazz. He has served as musical director, producer and arranger for the Grammy-winning percussionist Poncho Sanchez for 12 years.

Torres compared the music of saxophonists John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, who have distinct melodies yet they are both “amazing.” He said he heard one student say they wanted to go to a prestigious music program in North Texas University, but that location is far from where many jazz professionals are. He pointed to Los Angeles-based artists Dan Higgins and Bob Sheppard and said that if you study with them in L.A., you’re “already in the business.”

Torres said that Essential Ellington also teaches jazz history because it builds a strong musical base. “I think the greatest American jazz composer ever is Duke Ellington,” he said. “You get what he was thinking when he was writing. And the more of a base that you build, the better your musicianship will be.”

As a trombone player himself, Torres said he learned about Trummy Young, Jack Teagarden and Lawrence Brown. “So my musicianship becomes better because I know what the history of it is,” he said. “You have to know where all this stuff comes from.”

This will be the second trip to Essentially Ellington for MTHS senior Owen Smith, who plays the lead alto and soprano saxophone.

“Being able to play at JLCO was amazing,” he said. “I had never been to New York before, so [I got] to explore it with people in the band that I have been friends with for a very long time…and hearing all the other bands play, and do so many things, like [seeing the] Statue of Liberty and Broadway.”

Sophomore Fiona Reed, who plays the trumpet, said this will be her first time visiting New York City. “I saw that Jazz 1 got to go last year, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is so cool. I want to go so bad. And I’m just excited to go. I want to see New York and everything there.”

Speaking about their favorite jazz artists, Reed said she likes Chris Botti, while Smith admires Johnny Hodges and Kenny Garrett.

Torres said he is impressed that students who take full academic course loads and only rehearse jazz about an hour a day can still reach the Essentially Ellington level, compared to performing arts schools in the competition that focus on music for three to four hours daily.

“The fact that the kids want to really, really get into this program is fantastic,” he said. “The whole mission of Essentially Ellington is to be accessible to all schools.”