Confluence

Gillingham School Jazz Band

Gillingham School's jazz band took part in a workshop lead by Karen Wimhurst, and, working in the afternoon in small groups, came up with three ideas for new compositions for performance in the Confluence Fish Cabaret in April 1999. The workshop had been exciting and successful for the jazz band, but keeping hold of that excitement for the subsequent Monday lunchtime rehearsals was something of a challenge.

Final rehearsals for the Fish Cabaret in the performance space, choreography, and being made to play their scores from memory, and the pressure was on. Nervous excitement set in. But it was not until after it was all over, riding high on the enjoyment and success of performing their own music in public, that the real effect of this collaborative project became clear.

Rob Jessep, the music teacher at the school, who leads the band, had no doubts that the quality of their work in future will be higher as a result of the collaboration. Equally exciting for Rob was the transformation of attitude towards the band the day after the performance at the Fish Cabaret, with young people wanting to join the band who had previously been reluctant or uninterested.