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Phantom jazz band places 7th at ASU Highland Jazz Competition
Grand Canyon competed with 20 bands from around the state in their first jazz competition

The Grand Canyon Phantoms jazz band performs at the Arizona State University Highland Jazz Competition March 24.
Photo/Kim Besom

The Grand Canyon Phantoms jazz band performs at the Arizona State University Highland Jazz Competition March 24.

GILBERT, Ariz. — Following the Jazz Festival at Northern Arizona University, Grand Canyon High School’s jazz band spent several weeks preparing for the Arizona State University Highland Jazz Competition March 24.

Unlike the Northern Arizona Jazz Festival, in which the band was given a score and ranked against themselves, the Arizona State University jazz competition ranks the band against other bands from Arizona. After the bands perform, they are given the opportunity to work with an experienced jazz musician in a clinic that allows them to better their skills in the art form. Jazz band director Bentley Monk says the clinicians who worked with the students at the jazz competition were very beneficial to the band.

“The clinician we worked with this year at the Highland Jazz Competition really brought out qualities that I’ve been trying to bring out of the band.” Monk says. “It really helped reinforce some of the concepts we’ve been working on in class this year.”

Out of the twenty high school jazz bands at the competition, Grand Canyon High School’s jazz band placed seventh. Judith Ruiz, a clarinetist in the Grand Canyon High School Jazz Band, says that this is a huge accomplishment for the band.

“It’s amazing to see all of our hard work pay off,” Ruiz says. “The band has never really had the chance to go to a jazz competition. This was our first one, so coming home with seventh place is great.”

After the competition, the band was also able to listen to a recording of themselves playing and reflect on the things they learned. According to Monk, it is extremely helpful to the students to be able to hear themselves play.  

“The band was able to play on a world class high school stage,” Monk said. “This space was extremely beneficial to the band because of the audio and visual aspects. Being able to hear themselves play in surround-sound will help the students learn how to listen to each other.”

The Highland Jazz Festival was both inspiring and educational for Grand Canyon High School’s Jazz Band. With their new experiences and knowledge, they hope to continue building on their skills in jazz and compete for an even higher ranking next year.


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