Wednesday, March 27, 2024

BOA Grand Nationals: Centerville, Ohio

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INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 14, 2009)—”Before anyone did anything, Elvis did everything,” the Centerville Jazz Band from Centerville, Ohio, declares, quoting John Lennon, for their semi-final and final round performances at the Bands of America Grand National Championships here at the Lucas Oil Stadium.

The marching band from Centerville High School is celebrating the 25th year of its renaming with the show “ICON: The Art of Elvis,” based on the original “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Elvis Presley. Elvis once said about Rock ‘n’ Roll, “If you like it, if you feel it, you can’t help but move to it. That’s what happens to me. I can’t help it.”

Beginning in the late 1950s, Elvis brought us a new style of music, mixing “black” sounds from the rhythm and blues genre with “white” sounds of country music. The music, though, was not quite as controversial as some of his moves on stage.

We see the entire band move to a solid and driving back beat. In the days of Elvis, those swinging arms weren’t quite as controversial as the “gyrating” hips.

Standing at the vertex of a triangle formation, a lone trumpeter plays into the same mike The King used earlier, accompanied visually by a dancer. Then we hear the Elvis ballad “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.” A jazz lick at the conclusion reminds us of the roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

This is a year of reflection for the Centerville Jazz Band, a time to look back at their history of 25 years. Uniforms are new as of the 2008 season and give a bright gold glow to the ongoing growth of this co-curricular marching unit from suburban Dayton.

Elvis, too, wasn’t much more than a boy when he started, raised to love his mama (Gladys Love Smith) and Jesus. Although his performances were once “banned” by parents unaccustomed to the open sexuality of the South, a series of concerts over three days at the Houston Astrodome once brought a total attendance of 207,494.

The Centerville Jazz Band today doesn’t get quite that many, but the crowd of about 20,000 fans here is not to be dismissed. As the band looks back on Elvis’s roots and the influence he had on Rock ‘n’ Roll, they include music from their own “bluesy” beginnings, such as that of Michael Daugherty and original compositions by Andrew Markworth, inspired by Elvis.

The band mixes it up, as any truly influential forces would cause them to do, with a huge crescendo that segues into a rendition of “Hound Dog” featuring a saxophone combo and a dance up front.

Creativity abounds in the show, especially at the ending. As one of the Jazz Band members carries a football-like flag off the field, an announcer tells us, “Elvis has left the building.” This blending of a stage exit from a football field, something from the current generation of musicians, with an announcement from a previous generation, shows the influence of both today, not only on our lexicon of overused phrases, but on our young people in general.

The Centerville Jazz Band (the marching band) from Centerville High School, first built in 1924, is directed by Brandon Barrometti; drum majors are Amanda Gray, Cara Korte, Jill Cordonnier, and Annie Miller. The school hosts an invitational that features about two dozen mostly local bands as well as a Bands of America regional competition each year. They were named grand national champion in 1992, a tradition of excellence that continues to influence musicians today.

Paul Katulahttps://news.schoolsdo.org
Paul Katula is the executive editor of the Voxitatis Research Foundation, which publishes this blog. For more information, see the About page.

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