Mark your calendar: GySgt Ken Ebo of the USMC All Star Jazz Band performs with KAYJO & friends. Admission is free, but if you can, bring a new, unwrapped toy. The Lone Star Santa’s will be collecting toys for the children of tornado-ravaged east Texas.
The Keller Area Youth Jazz Orchestra (KAYJO) is an All Star jazz orchestra comprising 5 saxes, 10 brass and a rhythm section. Students from Keller and the surrounding area convene when school is out, and rehearse under direction of a college jazz professor. Every member of the band is active in his or her school program so we only meet when school is out (June-July, Spring Break, Christmas holidays).
Everyone in the band is an All Region qualifier, and many are All State band alumni. They are accepted based on referral or competitive audition, so the talent level is elite. That allows rehearsals to be accelerated, and lets the conductor choose repertoire from the college level.
The KAYJO has performed with Curt Wilson, professor emeritus of jazz from TCU, and with Mike Williams – lead trumpet of the Count Basie Orchestra. We are excited to announce an upcoming performance with a guest artist from the US Navy School of Music!
On July 23, 2017 join us at the Harvest Church, 7200 Denton Highway, for our performance with US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Ken Ebo. Gy Sgt Ebo conducts the USMC All Star Jazz band. He is also a gifted trombone soloist and arranger. They say he even sings occasionally. Check it out:
Our goal is to ensure that the performances are accessible to all. We have performed at Keller Summer Nights, the Keller Farmers Market, the Conservatory at Town Center, Keller United Methodist Church and Harvest Church. All performances have been free and open to the public.
You can see full length performances on the Watch Performances tab. Just want to hear a little bit? In 2016 the band recorded its first CD in the state-of-the-art recording studio of Dallas Baptist University. The purpose of the recording project was to give the students the studio experience; we never planned to press a compact disc. But the band’s performance was so good we decided to press a disc that listeners may take home.
Want to hear a clip? Email kellerjazz@yahoo.com for a mp3. Want to order the full CD? Go to our Home Page and click on “Buy a CD.” The music will surprise you, and the proceeds from your purchase will help us continue to offer great services to area young people!
In 2015 the Keller Public Arts Board contracted KAYJO to headline a performance at it’s June concert series. That financial boost really helped!
In 2016 we partnered with the Greater Keller Chamber of Commerce, and with support from the business community that performance was free, and we still kept costs to KAYJO families low. Typically, each 3-hour meeting is roughly the cost of a 30-minute private lesson.
Absolutely. We are only available when the band is in session (June-July, Christmas holidays, Spring Break). We ask for a donation, which will help us continue to offer educational services to hard-working teenagers. Please consider KAYJO for your Grand Opening, Tent Sale or Customer appreciation event. To discuss the possibilities, call Gary Phillips at (817)691-1205.
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