Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage Inc

The Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (YJED) is planning for a professional record session in May 2024.

We go into a professional recording studio with the best charts of the year, and spend several hours doing multiple takes with the recording engineers to get it all right. But then it takes another three months behind the scenes of post-production pro mastering, and pro mixing to create the polished final recording. That's a lot of professional work. And all this is funded by contributions. This is where you can help.

YJED Alumni have commented:

YJED has given me some of my most meaningful musical memories, and the recording project creates a lasting way to preserve these memories. In addition to being a great collection of an incredible year of music-making, the experience of an authentic studio recording is truly priceless, and I hope that ensembles in the future are able to have the same opportunity as I did (RL, 2015-2018)

I think a pro recording experience is one that every young musician who wants to make music in the future should experience, as there is nothing quite like working with the equipment in a professional studio and ultimately hearing yourself play on a professionally recorded and mastered track. (MA, 2016-2019)

To actually experience and participate in a live recording session with this jazz band would be a dream come true. Many of my teachers say they never got to produce a professional recording until college or even after. With that said, to have the great opportunity to be a part of the collaborative recording process would be incredible. Ever since the beginning of the year, this has been an event on the YJED calendar that I have been looking forward to with much excitement, and I truly cannot wait for our recording day. (RK, 2018-2020 before his 2019 recording session)

We appreciate all of your support and the encouragement of these very talented young musicians!

The Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (YJED) is a non-profit 501 (c) founded in 1999 by Robert Blazek. Our mission is to assemble, by audition, the top high school jazz talent in the DuPage and surrounding areas and combine their skills in the performance of jazz music literature. YJED creates the opportunity to work with professional studio musicians as well as college professors in the Chicagoland area. These masters in the jazz field share their talent through rehearsal clinics, concert performances, and our yearly studio recording projects. Through these experiences, YJED students gain the love and tradition for America's own great music - jazz

Dear YJED Families and Friends

Our Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (YJED) was selected as one of only 15 high school bands nationwide (out of 100+ bands that auditioned) to be invited to participate in the 29th Annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival in New York City (May 9-11, 2024). YJED is the first Chicago-area high school jazz band to be invited since 2015.

About the Festival: Essentially Ellington is considered the most prestigious high school jazz festival in North America. Sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center, the 15 invited bands spend 3 days immersed in workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals, and performances at the “House of Swing,” Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center under the oversight of Musical Director Wynton Marsalis and mentorship of the world-class musicians in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

About YJED: The Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage rehearses in Wheaton, but draws its members by audition from around the Chicago area. Celebrating its 25th year since its founding by current director Robert Blazek, YJED members have come from over 40 Chicago area high schools. A 501(c) organization, it exists to provide these musicians the opportunity to perform high-level jazz music literature in concert and in an annual studio recording.

(Do you want to hear the band? Sure, you do! Here's one of our tunes from our January concert:

Our challenge: Bringing a big band of 25 musicians plus chaperones to New York City is expensive, a challenge all invited big bands face. YJED however faces some additional challenges:

What the YJED band is doing:

That leaves a gap of about $15,000:

Why it’s important:

We hope you will join us on this journey through your contribution.

Sincerely

The Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage Members

Robert Blazek, Founder and Director

The Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (YJED) is planning for a professional record session in May 2023.

We go into a professional recording studio with the best charts of the year, and spend several hours doing multiple takes with the recording engineers to get it all right. But then it takes another three months behind the scenes of post-production pro mastering, and pro mixing to create the polished final recording. That's a lot of professional work. And all this is funded by contributions. This is where you can help.

YJED Alumni have commented:

We appreciate all of your support and the encouragement of these very talented young musicians!

The Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (YJED) is a non-profit 501 (c) founded in 1999 by Robert Blazek. Our mission is to assemble, by audition, the top high school jazz talent in the DuPage and surrounding areas and combine their skills in the performance of jazz music literature. YJED creates the opportunity to work with professional studio musicians as well as college professors in the Chicagoland area. These masters in the jazz field share their talent through rehearsal clinics, concert performances, and our yearly studio recording projects. Through these experiences, YJED students gain the love and tradition for America's own great music - jazz

The Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (YJED) is planning for a professional record session in May 2022.

We go into a professional recording studio with the best charts of the year, and spend several hours doing multiple takes with the recording engineers to get it all right. But then it takes another three months behind the scenes of post-production pro mastering, and pro mixing to create the polished final recording. That's a lot of professional work. And all this is funded by contributions. This is where you can help.

YJED Alumni have commented:

We appreciate all of your support and the encouragement of these very talented young musicians!

The Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (YJED) is a non-profit 501 (c) founded in 1999 by Robert Blazek. Our mission is to assemble, by audition the top high school jazz talent in the DuPage and surrounding areas and combine their skills in the performance of jazz music literature. YJED creates the opportunity to work with professional studio musicians as well as college professors in the Chicagoland area. These masters in the jazz field share their talent through rehearsal clinics, concert performances, and our yearly studio recording projects. Through these experiences, YJED students gain the love and tradition for America's own great music - jazz