LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — With their swinging beats, funky notes and sensational improvisation, the Los Alamitos High School jazz bands rang in the season on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at their concert, A Swingin’ Holiday. Performing in the PAC at 7 p.m., all three groups played jazzy holiday compilations to get the audience in the festive mood. 

The LAHS Jazz Program, split into three bands, ranging from the beginning Jazz III, to the intermediate Jazz II and the advanced Jazz I, continues to be a prominent musical group on campus. 

The night began with Jazz III’s “Joy to the World” with small bits of commentary between each song from members of the band. The Jazz III director, Mr. Buchen, also relayed his gratitude throughout the band’s three songs. 

Their second song, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” took the audience through the nostalgic “Peanuts” world with a compilation of favorites from the franchise. Jazz III finished off with the upbeat “Hot Chocolate” (Gen Ballard & Alan Silvestri, arranged by Berry) which was a crowd favorite as the students all joined together to exclaim an emphatic “hot chocolate” to end the song. 

“I think we did pretty good,” said Jazz III member, Emi Rafanan. “I feel like we (only) had little mistakes, (especially as it was) the second time ever performing with these people.”

Gallery • 4 Photos

Jaya Eapen

The marvelous Jazz II performances were in the beginning and set the festive tone for the rest of the show.

Following them, Jazz II began to amaze the crowd with their first song, “A Big Band Christmas II”. With sections from classic Christmas songs such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Auld Lang Syne,” the song was a pure success. 

To introduce the next song, “Little Drummer Boy,”, Jazz I and II director, Mr. Padilla, described the tune in an unorthodox way. 

“It’s a little schizophrenic at times,” Mr. Padilla said. 

The song itself was a jazzy spin on the timeless hit with different elements incorporated from the original version. This was followed by “White Christmas.” After the band finished playing, the audience was struck with a snowy surprise, bathing the stage and its performers in a magical glow. 

“My favorite song was ‘White Christmas,’” said Jazz II soloist Audrey Delgadillo. “The magical snow really just brought it all together.”

Jazz II ended with the perfect performance of “Gettin’ Funky on the Housetop” with a trumpet, trombone, tenor saxophone, flute, alto saxophone and piano solo sprinkled in to highlight top players.

Then, setting the stage for the long-awaited performances of the night, the prestigious Jazz I stepped out on the stage, clad in their signature sapphire attire with blue lighting to match. They started with “Yo Tannenbaum!” followed by “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” (by John Marks, arranged by Chris Sharp). 

However, a personal stand out of the night was “The Christmas Song” (by Mel Torme, arranged by Gordon Goodwin). This song was different from the other pieces played as it was centered exclusively around 1st trumpet, Josh Butterbaugh, and his flugelhorn solo, playing the melody of the tune. With his remarkable playing and the other members of Jazz I complementing him perfectly, the song was simply stunning overall. 

Closing out the concert was “Santa Baby,” with its impressive alto sax, trombone and bass trombone, and the finale, “Let it Snow” (by Jule Styne, arranged by Gordon Goodwin). During the final song, the stage once again glittered with snow, perfectly completing the captivating piece and leaving the audience in the holiday spirit. 

With countless solos, festive tunes and magical appearances, the 2024 jazz show was not one to miss. Make sure to see our jazz bands at their next performances at their Spotlight concert on Mar. 22 and their Celebration concert on May 21.