4 days ago
Triad student takes prize in national jazz competition
ELON, NC (WGHP) — Whether it's playing in an ensemble or on his own Bob Jefferson loves to create beautiful jazz music.
'I play Alto, tenor and soprano and then I double on clarinet,' Jefferson said.
He does it well. So well, in fact, that he has won a lot of accolades for his saxophone talent. He's been named to honor, all county and all regional bands and was selected for the All-State Jazz band. The result of a lot of hard work and practice.
He says he doesn't practice to win awards. Instead, he says, 'I practice because I'm motivated myself and just that self-motivation keeps me going and I just want to be the best that I can be.'
To others, it might seem like a chore but not to him. He just loves playing jazz, even though he isn't sure what draws him to that genre of music.
'I don't know. I was just…I was drawn to it in middle school, and I really got invested in it last year. I don't know why I like it too much, I think. I'm just more musically inclined. I love the complexity and then I love the social element of it. '
He added, 'So in a big band environment like this, it's definitely the camaraderie and being around with other people that are like-minded and share similar interests and then the solos are obviously all fun. But that's not what it's about. And then when you're playing with a small group like my quartet. It's definitely about the solos and just interacting with each other and kind of playing socially. '
Recently, he heard of a national competition, the 2025 Gerry Mulligan Jazz Challenge. Gerry Mulligan is considered one of the greats of jazz when it comes to the baritone saxophone.
For the competition,n Jefferson says, 'I had to learn a song called Etude for Franca. And I got a quartet together with some kids at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. And we just played the tune. I played the head and then soloed it for a bit and then played the head out and that was it. It was really. It was really simple. '
And obviously really good because he won first prize.
'I won first place, but not the grand prize,' he said. 'The grand prize is a brand new saxophone and they gave me some pointers on what I could do for next year to try and win the grand prize. That's what I'm aiming at right now. '
So he will continue to practice until he can enter again next year.
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