The Parish Jazz Band was established in 2004. We are about 10 members now, ranging from relative musical newbies to a few semi-professional musicians. I'm a charter member of the group, playing guitar, and while I've been playing my instrument for a long, long time, I'd say I'm somewhere in the middle in terms of my musical skills.
So, with that quick background, why do I love this group? Here are seven reasons.
(1) We encourage each other's growth. We support each other. PJB is a safe environment in which to play and learn. When someone succeeds in a solo, he or she receives a compliment. When we flub it, the group simply looks ahead and moves on.
(2) Which leads to the second point. We all have the group's permission to try things and fail. In fact, it's better to try and fail than not to try at all.
(3) We have evolved. We've grown. We're constantly expanding our repertoire and taking on new musical challenges. We've also grown in our personnel, being now two-and-a-half times the size we were seven years ago. The important value behind this growth is patience. This is a group of people who are in it for the long haul.
(4) Everyone's committed. We come to rehearsals. We work to get better. We practice pieces on our own between rehearsals.
(5) We have good leadership, in our director, our manager, and in the musical depth at our keyboard. But importantly, everyone has a voice. It's okay for anyone to say, 'That didn't go well, can we try it another way.' And so we'll give that suggestion a try, just to see.
(6) We have bench strength. We have two extra bass players, an extra guitarist, a back-up drummer, an extra trumpeter. And many regulars in the band can pinch hit, for example, at the keyboard, on vocals, or on drums.
(7) We are welcoming. Anyone who can play a little jazz, on any instrument, is welcome to come and try out playing with us. Sometimes there's not a fit. But we're willing to give any sincere musician new to the group a good try and a fair shake.
In short, a really wonderful team. I'm proud to be a part of it.
~Michael Paladini, Stow, MA