Located in the Commons, the jazz bands of FHN and Barnwell Middle School will have their first joint dinner concert tonight at 7 p.m. The purpose of the performance is to give the middle school students something to work towards in high school. Swing, ballad, blues, and funk music will all be featured, including a special song from Stevie Wonder at the finale of the event.

“It makes me feel happy that I can play [with the high school students],” seventh grade trumpeter Zach Allison said.

The dinner concert will be $10 per person. With the money raised, jazz band teacher Jeff Moorman plans to take the ensemble to concerts and bring in professional musicians to further instruct them on their instrument. Every MLK Day since 2009, the professional musicians meet teenagers up at North for about six hours of teaching, rehearsing, and advising. After one music clinic, the students had the opportunity to see the professionals play in a concert at Jazz at the Bistro.

“Each year the quality of the jazz program has gone up because of these clinicians,” Moorman said. “Because of that, our students are now venturing off to get more help or more performances.”

For the one and only jazz concert of the year Moorman selected all the songs that will be featured. He wants the students to learn to be a better musician from the songs and also the audience to be able to relate to them as well. Overall though, the group of trumpeters, trombonists, saxophonists, pianists, drummers and bassist just want the audience to enjoy the music.

“We’ve definitely put a lot of work into it,” senior, trumpet and French horn player Sydney Reynolds said.