By Devored A. Horton Jr.

The JazzU Allstars of Jazz St. Louis became the first student ensemble to perform at the Historic New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 4, 2024.

The young musicians of JazzU were surprised to find out they are the first student ensemble ever to perform at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

“Hopefully, we have paved the way for groups after us to go on to get that same experience. Not only down in New Orleans, but at places all around,” said Issac Dessau, bass player for JazzU

Jazz St. Louis is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the uniquely American art of jazz through performance, education, and community engagement. Each year, Jazz St. Louis presents over 270 performances in its internationally acclaimed concert series. Jazz St. Louis Education programs cultivate leadership and cultural appreciation in the next generation of musicians and listeners through training, educational resources, and engagement with local and touring professional musicians. 

The organization provides field-trip experiences, hands-on training programs, in-school clinics and masterclasses, and curricular resources for teachers. For more information about Jazz St. Louis, visit jazzstl.org.

The positive impact that Jazz St. Louis has on young artists is life changing. It certainly was for  Ryan Cooper, trumpet player for JazzU.

“The trip was really interesting to me because I have never traveled out of the state of Illinois,” Cooper said. “So, being able to go to a new scene and see the people there and hear so many different things was really a grade A experience.”

Jason Schlote, who plays saxophone for Jazz U, had a similar but different experience from his peer/bandmate with the trip to the festival.

“The trip was kind of like an adventure because I have never gone out of the state to a performance so it was like a good experience for me,” said Schlote.

On the other hand, Issac Dessau had a surreal experience at the festival in New Orleans.

“It was kind of surreal in a way, New Orleans kind of felt like a different world compared to St. Louis and the community down there was just amazing,” said Dessau.

Tonnie Kamkwalala Jr., who plays drums, was grateful to be part of this group and festival.

“The experience was very nice, I was extremely grateful to have been there and to be able to do this. Especially at this young age not everyone gets to go to a jazz festival let alone play in it,” said Kamkwalala Jr.

Kamkwalala Jr. mentioned that he and his bandmates got a chance to meet some jazz icons. Danilo Perez, Brian Blade, John Patitucci, and Chris Potter.

Calio Grant, pianist for JazzU, had sort of an uneasy experience on the trip because of nerves.

“It was very intense … I was not used to playing in that many high stakes situations, but overall this experience was good,” said Grant.

This post was originally published on St. Louis American.