Jazz and More Featured at Nellie F. Bennett Chorus Concert

If the weather is warmer, the flowers are blooming and music is streaming from Nellie F.Bennett Elementary School’s all-purpose room, it’s got to be time for the Fifth Grade Chorus’ Spring Concert.

And if the sounds make you want to jump, jive and wail, well then it’s, “Gotta Be Jazz!”

Last month’s annual spring chorus concert took the audience through the evolution of jazz starting with the “Star-Spangled Banner” to the titular “Gotta Be Jazz.”

The performance mixed the sounds of ragtime, Blues, Dixieland, and even Disco, with lively dance numbers.

It also included fun facts about the history of jazz from its roots in the south to its influence in popular music.

Following “Gotta Be Jazz," the chorus uttered the timeless ode to happiness “Don’t Worry be Happy.”

Then it was on to New Orleans for “Basin Street Blues," with solos from Mary DeRensis and Shannon Rossetto.

The musical timeline continued to a jazz-influenced “My Favorite Things” from the The Sound of Music.

Then the chorus traveled up the rhythm and blues highway on “Route 66” and on to the old Louis Armstrong great, “What a Wonderful World.”

Soloists Kimberlee Sibilia, Michael Petillo and Grace Enright helped finish off the musical production with the 70’s hit “Turn the Beat Around.”

“Jazz is such a historically rich genre of music,” said Principal James Karaba. “By learning about the history of jazz, the students are getting a nice glimpse into our country’s musical timeline. And with the evolution of music, jazz can be clearly tied to much of today’s popular music.

“The chorus did a great job and made for an entertaining and energetic show," Karaba said.

To learn more about the Point Pleasant School District, visit the district website at www.pointpleasant.k12.nj.us.