Jazz Combo Earns Top Award at National Jazz Competition in NYC

This past weekend the Rivers Select 1A Jazz Combo was honored with the Best Combo award at the nationally-recognized Charles Mingus Competition at the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) in New York. The combo was among the three finalists in their category for the competition, which drew more than 100 submission from schools all over the country.

In addition to the group award, bassist Elliot Berman ’11 was named Outstanding Soloist and Best Arranger (for his arrangement of “Celia”). He and guitarist Colin Beagan ’11 were both invited to perform after the event with the professional Charles Mingus Big Band, and Berman was even bestowed the honor to play Mingus’ actual bass courtesy of the jazz great’s widow Sue Mingus. The other members of the group include Aaron Behr '11 on piano, and Cal Louis '11 and Jeremiah Campanelli '12 on drums.

“Playing in a jazz combo requires the highest level of skill and creativity,” said jazz director Philippe Crettien. “The band did an outstanding job performing their own arrangements. They were the shining stars in the competition, and  the jazz world took notice!”