Ann Arbor's big band

continued

This year the PKO and the Firefly have teamed up with area high school jazz programs to offer their Jazz Student Outreach Program. Once, twice, or even three times a month, the band hosts a night with student musicians, their teachers, and their parents. The evening opens with an hour set by the PKO, followed by half an hour by the visiting band, and then an hour of fun and games as some of the students sit in with the grown-ups. Keller and friends have found an effective way of supporting high school jazz programs and of assuring that new generations of jazz musicians will be there in the future to keep the orchestra going for years to come.

In addition to its regular Monday night gig, the PKO celebrates its eighteenth anniversary at the Firefly on Friday, January 26.

[Review published January 2007]