Warren High wins Jazz in the Meadows

Saxophones and dress suits took over the hallways of Rolling Meadows High School as thousands of young musicians took their turn in front of the judges at Saturday’s Jazz in the Meadows.

T.J. Mitchell, a percussion player and 2009 Rolling Meadows graduate, stopped by his former high school with his parents to catch some tunes.

“It’s just really good music,” said Mitchell, now a music education major at Illinois State University. “Where else can you go and listen to really good music all day?”

The annual event featured performances from 115 ensembles representing more than 65 schools from seven states.

More than 2,000 students participate, said Rolling Meadows Band Director Christopher Buti.

“It’s an excellent competition,” Buti said. “The judges give a lot of feedback including an audio and written evaluation. Then the plaque goes to the top talent.”

This year, Warren High School’s jazz assemble was named the grand champion. Warren won the competition the two prior years as well.

At the end of the day, a featured jazz group or artist headlines the day with a grand finale performance. This year, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble wrapped up the event’s performances.

Midday, Tim Seisser, a 2001 Rolling Meadows High School graduate put on a show leading the Tim Seisser Quintet. Seisser’s quintet features a trombone, saxophone, piano, bass and drummer, and includes two other members who also played at Jazz in the Meadows during high school. Matt Nelson played with Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein and Rich Moore played with Wheaton Warrenville South High School.

The quintet performs widely throughout Chicago, both at private clubs and last year at Taste of Chicago. They perform mostly contemporary jazz.

Seisser released his first album, “Wire and Wood,” in 2008 to popular acclaim, before recording three more albums independently in the last year through his website: “T. S. 5 Live;” “That’s Not Jazz,” and “That’s Not Fusion.”