Article Photos

Students at Lewis County High School will be participating in the area's Winter Jazz Weekend event when their school hosts Atlanta jazz band, C.C. Booker, for the "Business of Music" Master Class Workshop on the morning of Jan. 29.

Beginning at 9 a.m., students will experience a two-hour presentation consisting of performance, lecture and discussion on the artistic and the business aspects of the music industry.

"We are very glad to host this event," said Lewis County High School principal, Tim Derico. "The presenters are college-level instructors who also have a real world perspective on careers in the music industry. This is invaluable information for our students."

Bandleader, vocalist and sax player Will Scruggs is already familiar to some of the students as he presented another workshop at Robert L. Bland Middle School last February during the Big Jazz Weekend event sponsored by the Arts Council of Weston.

"We were very impressed with the students we met," said Scruggs. "They were very attentive and asked great questions. It seems there is a lot of undiscovered interest in jazz music among the young people."

The Friday workshop is part of the West Virginia Jazz Society's Education Initiative. Following the LCHS activity, invited students may participate in a regional student networking luncheon. On Jan. 30, mentoring sessions with many of the musicians performing during the Winter Jazz Weekend event and a student jam session and community concert are scheduled at the Bridgeport Conference Center.

Each evening of the Winter Jazz Weekend will feature live performances in Jazz at Charles Pointe, a nightclub created especially for the event inside the Bridgeport Conference Center. C.C. Booker will perform as headliner on Saturday beginning at 8 p.m. Six other bands including musicians from West Virginia are also scheduled.

For more information on the Master Class Workshops, e-mail Bob Workman at rawork@ma.rr.com. Additional information on the MCM Business Systems Student Networking Luncheon, the "Quality Time With The Pros" Mentoring Sessions, and the "Too Cool For School" Student Invitational Jam and Community Concert will be released over the next few weeks.

Winter Jazz Weekend is a regional educational, cultural and economic development event designed to showcase the area's ability to host quality upscale entertainment while setting the stage for development of the music and tourism industry.

The event is being produced by the West Virginia Jazz Society, Inc. in partnership with the Greater Bridgeport Convention and Visitors Bureau, with significant support from the Harrison County Cultural Foundation, education and business leaders and other community organizations.

For more information on Winter Jazz Weekend, go to www.bridgeportconference.com, the Bridgeport Conference Center's Web site.

For more information on the WVJS, a not-for-profit West Virginia corporation based in Weston, but serving all interested communities, email WVJazzSociety@aol.com.