The Swing of Things – Basketball Swing

The cover art made for the compilation of tunes posted on SoundCloud.

Jon Harmor, General Manager

The sounds of squeaking shoes and bouncing basketballs ricochet along the inner walls of the open gym and intermingle with warm saxophone riffs, screaming trumpets, and the intense battery of drums. The jazz band played a musical variety ranging from classics like “Barbara Ann” by The Regents and “Rockin’ Robin” by Bobby Day, to more recent arrangements of “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga and many others.

Every year, the Manitou Springs Jazz Band shows their school spirit by playing for the home basketball games. This year however, numerous scheduling conflicts, as well as snow day cancellations, led the band into a tight corner when both Chris Welch and Tom Bruszuski had a concert performance of their own and neither could direct the jazz band at a few of the games. 

The students decided they must still give their support to the basketball players and so they got permission from the faculty to run their own small jazz ensemble at the games. Just before the game, the musicians set up their equipment and instruments along the corner home bleachers and began warming up. Sophomore Abby Chapman took lead of the group and made sure everything ran smoothly.

All of the songs were recorded live during the games and can be downloaded via SoundCloud.

By Jon Harmor