Vocal Jazz Summit

On January 30th, Avenue Jazz and Soundcheck went to Valley to compete at the Vocal Jazz Summit, their very first competition of 2025. Unlike show choir competitions, jazz choirs are not given a trophy or rating on how they did. But, they are critiqued by a judge on ways they could improve their performance.

These jazz choirs have worked hard to perform the best they can, working on vowels and correcting their rhythms. Jazz choir is much different than the regular choirs, in jazz choir you are given your own personal mic verses; in regular choirs, your whole group is given little mics to give sound for the whole group. In jazz choir, you are also given music that makes it hard for each part to blend together perfectly. Senior Vernon Njane, who is part of Soundcheck, states, “Jazz Choir music sounds very different, almost wrong being compared to regular choir.” In almost every song, there are spots where the singers are allowed to improvise parts of the song, which allows for a unique listening experience. Senior Rain Hall, who’s part of Avenue Jazz, states, “Some of us also get to try improv, which isn’t very common in other styles. Some of our singing is done on syllables instead of real words, which is another thing that is unique to jazz choir.” Before any jazz performance, the singers check the mics to make sure they are working correctly for their tone and to optimize sound. Another cool thing about Jazz is that there are two different speakers, the main speakers go into the audience for everyone to hear and the other speakers, or monitors, are so the singers and band can hear themselves and each other.

The environment of the performances and practices are very much the same, students have fun with each other and hold each other accountable for their mistakes. Practices are after school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so students spend lots of time together, getting to know everyone. During these practices, the groups have decided to add interactions with each other as well as the audience into their performance. Sophomore Levi Khotz, who’s part of Soundcheck, states, “The environment is chill and relaxed. The group has a lot of fun together and we mess around sometimes.” Even though they have fun, they make sure to get their work done and improve. Performances are only a little different compared to practices. Many performances are laid back and don’t cause a lot of stress. Combo is the band that helps the singers keep track of their tempo and add unique sounds in the background.

Something students are excited about for this season is Jazz Championships, which is the first competition where the choirs are actually scored and ranked. Avenue Jazz went last year and won 1st. Most sophomore students are excited to experience high school Jazz Choir. Levi Khotz states, “9th grade was my first year of jazz choir, so I’m ready to see what it’s like in high school.”

Overall both Soundcheck and Avenue Jazz had a great time performing at Valley’s Vocal Jazz Summit and had amazing performances. Their next performance will be March 3rd at Waukee High School, it would be awesome if you would come out and support them.