Music filled the air around Clearview Common in Mt. Lebanon on Thursday as the Mellon Middle School Jazz Band serenaded the lunchtime crowd.
“What beautiful weather to have a little outdoor jazz,” said Band Director Louise Marino as she welcomed the crowd.
The 18-member sixth-grade jazz band opened the show with three songs, followed by the 31-member seventh- and eighth-grade combined jazz band.
The finale of the 45-minute performance was “Sing, Sing, Sing” featuring a drum solo by eighth-grader Haruya Iyobe, whom Marino described as Mellon Middle School Jazz Band’s version of Gene Krupa, the legendary drummer who made the song famous. “That was pretty nice being compared to him,” Iyobe said.
As the students packed up their instruments and headed back to class, Marino thanked the crowd for turning out and supporting music in Mt. Lebanon.
The jazz band is an extra-curricular opportunity offered to band members during the second semester. Members meet once a week beginning in January.
“Music is probably one of the single most important factors in keeping people human,” Marino said.