Making Beautiful Music with the Urban Jazz Band

The Urban School of San Francisco, one of several local high schools with a large population of CDS grads, is famous for its jazz band. We’re proud to say that four of the eleven performers in this year’s group are former CDS students, with a guitarist, a trumpeter, and two saxophonists all coming out of our music program. After taking Urban’s Intro to Jazz Band class, the quartet joined the band as a study hall activity and recently played in a winter concert.

Although they’re lifelong music lovers, the jazz musicians credited their years at CDS with helping them develop and refine their interest in the craft. They especially praised their classes with Middle School Music Teacher Yari Mander, who has his students play together in small groups as they explore the world of sound. “The small groups with Yari were really fun because we had a lot of freedom to do whatever we want,” said Anand, the guitarist. “It was definitely one of my favorite memories.” Jack, the trumpeter, agreed, saying that “it really opened up a new door into different types of music that we would be able to play.”

At CDS, we encourage our students to share the joy they see in the world, and one way to do that is through the arts. We’re so glad to see our alums continue to sharpen their skills and take their love of music onto a bigger stage!