Hot chili and cool jazz await the attendees of the Gib Weigel Annual Jazz Festival, held at Arrowhead High school Thursday, February 23, 2012. Tickets were $8 for adults and $5 for students or $30 for a family and all proceeds benefitted the Gib Weigel Music scholarship in honor of the former Arrowhead band director.

                “I feel like Hot Chili Cool Jazz is this hidden piece of Arrowhead culture,” says Arrowhead band director Stacey Zwirlein. “But it needs to be expanded!”

                Dinner of chili, nachos, hot dogs, and brownies was served from 5:00 to 6:30PM. The Consortium Middle School Jazz Ensemble performed first, playing an assortment of jazz numbers while people ate. After the consortium, the Sussex-Hamilton Jazz band performed their set in the cafeteria.

                At 6:15, the crowd trickled into the theater where the Arrowhead concert took place. First on the program was a set by the Arrowhead South Jazz Ensemble. South Jazz accepts anyone who wants to play in the jazz band without an audition, including non-traditional jazz instruments such as flutes and tubas.

                South Jazz performed a number of swing hits, such as “Green Onions” by Al Jackson, Jr., and “Aftershock” by Larry Barton.

                “I met the composer of this piece, and everyone in the band asked me if I shook his hand,” said Zwirlein to the crowd. “I just wanted to tell him, ‘Yeah, my band loves your piece!’”

                After South Jazz finished, North Jazz took the stage. North Jazz is the prestigious jazz band here at Arrowhead that requires an audition to get into and meets tenth period every day. It also only accepts traditional jazz instruments like trumpet, trombone, saxophones, and piano.

                Playing a total of four tunes, North Jazz performed by themselves for about a half hour. Their mixture of swing, tradition jazz, and blues tunes showcased the talent of the band, including “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” by Charles Mingus, featuring Arrowhead senior and tenor saxophone player Peter Warrichaiet.

                Finally, the incredible Northern Illinois University Lab Band took the stage. Although their portion of the concert was by far the longest, the enthusiasm that leaked from the stage made it fun and enjoyable to watch. Adding to this excitement was the energetic director, Rodrigo Villanueva.  

Before teaching jazz band at NIU, Villanueva performed with and composed for a number of pop stars and jazz artists. His love for Hispanic music came through in his choice of “Afro Blue” by Mongo Santamaria, a Cuban dance song which features Villanueva himself playing percussion.

“It was really fun to have the NIU Lab band here,” says Arrowhead senior Rachel Auton. She plays trombone in North Jazz. “It was a phenomenal experience to watch and play with them.”

Villanueva also emphasized the importance of jazz as well as recording and teaching as a college student. Earlier in the day, North Jazz and the NIU kids had sectionals and a clinic to rehearse.

“I t was really neat to have the older people here with us,” says Arrowhead senior and North Jazz trumpet player Eric Sutton. “I could feel myself improving just by listening to them.”

“It has been great to come here and let my students teach you as young musicians,” Villanueva said to the crowd and North Jazz. “That is a very important experience for my students and for you.”

At the end of the concert, both the NIU band and North Jazz came together on stage to perform one final song: “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Louis Prima.

“This song is dedicated to you and your program,” said Villanueva. “This is for Gib.”

From the first note, the ‘50s classic had everyone clapping, including Villanueva. He also played percussion in this song, amazing the crowd as he tuned the drum mid-solo with his elbow.

The brilliant wall of sound that came from the stage and the smiles on the audience’s faces confirmed that Hot Chili Cool Jazz was a success one again.