Night of jazz music slated at Havre High School

The usual sounds of bouncing volleyballs and basketballs will be replaced by that of trumpets, saxophones and trombones Monday night at the Havre High School gym.

The 14th annual Taste of Jazz, slated for 7 p.m., will include four groups performing vocal and instrumental jazz and swing music. Tickets are available at the high school office, Cavaliers, Julie's Hallmark, Creative Leisure, and from any high school music student. Admission, which includes coffee, tea and pie, is $5, $4 for senior citizens and $16 for a family.

In addition to the high school jazz band, the concert will feature the Hi-Liters, a coed jazz vocal choir; the Lo-Liters, another vocal group; and Belles Voix, an all-female group that performs swing music.

"They play such fun music and sing such neat songs," said Debbie Smith, vice president of the Havre Music Parents Association. "In our small community, we don't always get the big cultural gatherings. This is such a fun thing for the parents and kids and community."

The Taste of Jazz, Smith said, is the primary fund-raiser of the year for the music department.

"It's awesome. It's the greatest idea since Kleenex," she said. "Whenever the music program needs something, we try to provide it."

The money goes toward things like gowns for the symphonic band, display shelves for band trophy cases, and scholarships to music camps. The parent association, Smith said, also raised funds during the district music festival held in Havre two weeks ago.

Taste of Jazz, high school band director Ron Coons said, has attracted as many as 500 to 600 people in past years.

"It just depends on what else is going on in the community," he said. "It's kind of a salute to the seniors that are in these groups."