TEMPLE, Texas — Temple High School’s Temple Highlighters jazz band has performed all over the country during the group’s storied history. Now the Highlighters will be adding a new venue to that extensive list of performance sites with a unique concert opportunity later this month.
The Highlighters will get the chance to play in a professional jazz club with a concert at the Parker Jazz Club in Austin on April 21st at 6:00 p.m. The Highlighters performance will be part of the club’s series that highlights area high school jazz bands and is sponsored by the Texas Jazz Society. The performance will be open to the public and all of the proceeds from ticket sales will go back to the Highlighters to help fund additional events for the band. That money will help fund future trips or help pay for high-level clinicians to come in and work with the program’s musicians. In addition to the financial benefit to the Highlighters, the group’s director is using the experience to showcase the band’s talents, while looking to the past and the future of the program.
“Honestly, I booked this gig as a thank you to our seniors because they are the ones who really put in the hard work and helped lay a foundation when I took over this group,” Temple Highlighters Director Marcos Duran said. “I wanted to give them the chance to have the real-world experience of playing a professional club. They will get a sound check and have great acoustics in a great solo venue. It also helps us showcase our talent and get these kids outside of Temple to see what else exists in the jazz scene.”
“I just love to put our skills out there and it is a great opportunity to go out and put on a great show,” said Makale Edwards, a senior alto saxophone player with the Highlighters. “We want people to see how much hard work we have put in this year and how strong the Temple Highlighters are now and will be in the future.”
The Highlighters are planning to perform their typical jazz festival setlist, along with Duke Ellington’s “Black, Brown and Beige.” That seminal piece tells the tale of the African American people from reconstruction to the present day through several different pieces of music. Duran is also hopeful that the performance will become an annual event to continue to highlight the student’s talents each year. Meanwhile, the members of the Highlighters are looking forward to the opportunity to perform in a professional club with all that experience includes.
“This is going to be a very different experience because this stepping into the world of professionalism,” said Naizyrh White, senior trumpet player and vocalist for the Highlighters. “Everyone seems to have a starting point where they stepped out and this could be ours. It is going to be great experience to be around that professional atmosphere and equipment.”
“I’m really looking forward to being immersed in a professional experience to see what it could be like after high school,” said Sebastian Diaz-Campos, senior trombone player for the Highlighters. “To be on stage like that is going to be like ‘wow’ and I think we are really locking in during our practices for this performance.”
Limited tickets to the Highlighters performance are still available and start at $20 per person. Tickets may be purchased through the Parker Jazz Club website at: Shows - Parker Jazz Club (turntabletickets.com). The show will also be livestreamed through the club’s website for those who are not able to attend in person.
Temple High School is home to the oldest high school jazz curriculum in the state of Texas. Since 1952, jazz education has been included in the Temple ISD fine arts curriculum with dedicated class periods at the high school and middle school levels. The Temple Highlighters have received local, state, and national recognition for their performances at the Essentially Ellington Festival and Competition, The Charles Mingus Festival, Savannah (GA) Swing Central, the Basically Basie Competition, and the Jazz Education Network National Conference. In 2022, the Highlighters were winners of the ‘Perform with Mintzer’ competition, where they hosted Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Bob Mintzer for a clinic and concert.